


Rebellious

by sde001



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Platonic Relationships, maybe I'll add pairings, maybe not
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-12 20:33:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29016657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sde001/pseuds/sde001
Summary: Unbeknownst to the students and pros of a world filled with heroism, a trickster has come to make an impact. (Cross-posted on ffnet)
Relationships: Class 1-A (My Hero Academia) & Kurusu Akira, Kurusu Akira & Jirou Kyouka, Kurusu Akira and Kaminari Denki, Kurusu Akira and Midoriya Izuku, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, possible romance in the future - Relationship
Comments: 13
Kudos: 72





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Persona or MHA. This fic originated from ffnet, but I'm posting it on ao3 as well because why not.

Shota Aizawa, otherwise known as his hero name Eraserhead, was never one for the dramatic. He had always avoided media attention when possible, keeping his operations private and his information secret. He liked doing things practically and efficiently, with minimal distraction.

Almost no one knew his name, and his work as all the better for it. Of course, he could certainly see the advantages of having a quirk as flashy as say- All Might's or Endeavors. The media would naturally drift towards them because of their overly visible efforts at stopping villainy, and it made people feel secure. Like they were protected.

Although, he supposed the latter hero could certainly work on his charisma and public speaking. Aizawa didn't know much about the current Number Two hero, but from what he had seen so far the man would be better suited to working in more private operations, similar to himself.

Either way, Aizawa had never cared for being public and dramatic. He understood the value of it, but in a land already saturated with heroes? He had no need to at all.

The news announcer on the TV next to him started to speak. Aizawa casually tuned in.

"-and next up, the serial killer Himiko Toga has turned herself into the police, after committing 6 murders, each of them brutal stabbings-"

Aizawa raised an eyebrow, his interest slightly increasing. A villain turning herself into the police, willingly? That alone was rare. A villain with _6_ deaths on her record turning herself in? That was nigh-impossible. In his entire career, Aizawa had never seen a single murder perpetrator voluntarily let the police capture them.

 _Weird_ , he thought.

"-It has been revealed that Toga, age 16, possesses a side condition that turns her bloodthirsty and depraved when she doesn't consume blood. However, strangely enough, her condition was seemingly nullified when she turned herself in. Toga has already confessed to her crimes, and is currently on a waitlist to undergo mental recovery."

Aizawa's eyes slightly widened, if such a thing was possible for the dry-eyed man. _This is getting stranger and stranger as it goes on. A mental condition nullified? So suddenly?_ It was odd indeed.

"-during the police raid on her hideout, we discovered several knives, several vials of bloods from victims yet to be identified, and a single red card." said the news announcer, the TV screen shifting to show a red card adorned with jumpy printed black and white letters.

**Himiko Toga,**

**We've been watching you. Following you. Observing you. We know of your crimes. Of your sins. Of your misdeeds. You may have hid from justice thus far, but soon you will walk towards it with an open heart and confess your deeds with your own mouth. Your sins will be stolen, and your heart will be saved. Look forward to it.**

**From,**

**The Phantom Thieves of Hearts**

Reading the letter, Aizawa narrowed his eyes. What was this now? Phantom Thieves of Hearts? Inwardly, Aizawa couldn't help but cringe. This was obviously- to some degree- an act of vigilantism. How such a thing had happened, he had no idea. _But geez, whoever these Phantom Thieves are, they sure are hungry for some attention._

And no matter what, something like this was illegal. Aizawa focused more on the news, his interest growing with a slight disdain.

"The police suspect a mind related quirk has been used to make Toga confess to her crimes. However, such an ability has never shown up in any database. Now, onto the next piece of news, a single~"

Aizawa scoffed, tuning out as the topic changed. _So, a group of vigilantes are on the move, making villains confess to their own sins._ Aizawa grumbled, rubbing his chin in thought. _If it weren't for the fact that this is plain vigilantism, I might even support this._ Although he had to admit, whoever these phantom thieves were, their idea of 'flair' made him cringe.

But he had to admit, this... could be an effective investment in the long term. If these Phantom Thieves continued, it would gain public attention in the most unconventional way possible, influencing the public all the while staying in the shadows. It was ingenious. Aizawa was almost jealous.

 _If that's really the case, it puts the letter in a whole new light,_ Aizawa mused, _these letters... Whatever they are, they're dramatic and flashy. The public loves things like that._

Frowning, Shoto Aizawa made a note on his mind to look out for the name _Phantom Thieves_ in the future, not quite sure what to make of them just yet.

* * *

_ A week later, in a Cafe named Leblanc... _

* * *

A slim, frizzy haired 15 year old boy with glasses smiled as he looked at the TV. He had to admit, the letter was... amateurish compared to what he was normally used to. Although he supposed he was never the one coming up with the letter. That role had always been passed to Ryuji or Yusuke.

Now that he was alone, he just couldn't produce the same result. It was... disheartening. _I suppose someday I'll master the art._ But before that, he had to find new targets. It was frustrating how the metaverse seemed to work in this world. In the few years he had been in it, he had only found a couple targets, and Himiko Toga had been the only one worth pursuing so far.

It seemed that the people of this world were naturally just _better_. More kind hearted, more honest. Although he supposed that came with having literal superpowered heroes roam everyday streets. Obviously, people would strive to be the best versions of themselves. Especially with _All Might._

Akira had to admit, the idea of someone being so good and selfless had roused suspicion in his paranoid mind, but the man was practically doing _nothing_ but saving people. There were no slip ups, no 'mistakes,' no nothing that gave away a trace of villainy. Either the man was an _amazing_ actor or...

Or he was just being honest. The idea was baffling to someone like Akira, but then again... this entire world was baffling.

 _ **"I admit, I am starting to tire of this, Akira. A spirit of rebellion has no place in such a world."**_ the deep voice of Arsene spoke.

Akira sighed. Now that Toga was gone, he was lost again. He had nothing to do but run Leblanc with a _very_ illegal licence. But it wasn't like he was doing anything bad. He had made sure his prices were reasonable, his customer service was good, and he knew how to brew a wicked cup of coffee.

And after all, a man needed to work _somehow._

His coffee finished, Akira took a small sip and smiled before he went over to the door and flipped the sign to **OPEN**.

Instantly, his first customer came in. The man had been waiting out before he had opened the cafe, to Akira's surprise. Something like that had never happened. After all, Leblanc- at least _his_ version of it- was much more modest than Sojiro Sakura's restaurant. At least, in terms of customers.

The man that came in almost made Akira snicker. Almost. He had to make sure to maintain professionalism after all. Perhaps that was the one area where he disagreed with Sojiro. Maintaining distance. But with this customer, he had to keep himself from being more than slightly amused. Mostly due to the fact that more than anything, the man looked _dead_. And not in a scary way, but in a rather comedic one. His eyes were reddened from dryness and dark circles adorned his face. Overall, he just looked _tired._

The customer approached the counter and Akira gave a friendly wave. To his surprise, instead of ordering, the man stared plainly at his face, as if he were trying to extract information from it. Akira narrowed his eyes, contemplating using his third eye, which he had labeled as his quirk when he had first arrived in this new world a year and a half ago. Personas... were something else. He didn't want to bother explaining them, and it wasn't like he had any use for them in the real world anyways. He was a phantom thief, not a hero.

Although he wasn't exactly one to complain. Society had seemingly moved past the need for a group for the Phantom Thieves here, and while it gave him a lack of purpose, it was... nice. Nice to know that assholes and corrupted bastards like Kamoshida and Shido weren't out there abusing anyone and everyone they laid eyes on. In fact, he suspected that Toga had barely even had a palace. The only thing that gave her one was her distortion on reality, and even then it was so _different_ from the usual corruption he faced in Tokyo that he briefly even debated whether to actually steal her treasure or not.

In the end, he had decided to go with it because of the fact that well... She _was_ a serial killer. But regardless, he almost felt bad for the girl. Unlike Kamoshida or Shido, her distortions on the world were something that she had zero control over. She was more of a victim than anything.

It was strange for him to question his own sense of justice. Of right and wrong. Akira knew he was perfectly capable of it, or at least _hoped_ so. But the feeling was still strange. With people like Kaneshiro or Kamoshida, it was so _easy_ to make judgement. Here, there weren't any clear cut cases like that.

"Hello?" a voice interrupted him from his thoughts. Akira looked upwards to find a slightly ticked off customer. He quickly bowed, apologizing before he took out a small notepad to list down the man's orders. _Though, what was that expression before? It almost looks like he's trying to extract information from me or something... Could he be some sort of criminal?_

Activating his third eye would be dangerous here, seeing as it would immediately make his eyes glow. But would it be worth the risk of possibly ticking off the newcomer? Akira briefly contemplated the options in his head as he prepared his notebook slower than usual, flipping through the pages with leisure. There were no other customers after all.

After a brief pause of hesitation, Akira activated his third eye, letting his eyes glow an unearthly blue, before sighing in re-assurance after he found no real hostile intent coming from his newest customer. However, to his surprise, the man's eyes lit up too, briefly turning red before going back to the dull black.

_Was that his quirk? I wonder what that is._

The man narrowed his eyes. "What was that?" he asked.

Akira gave an apologetic smile. "That was my quirk. It helps me see whether someone has hostile intentions or not." he said. "You do look pretty scary, you know? And besides, you used your quirk as well, whatever that was that made your eyes red. Mind telling me what that is?"

"Emitter of mutation?" asked the man. Akira narrowed his eyes at the question. _Though, it's a pretty simple question. No harm in answering, I guess._

Akira flipped another page. "Emitter," he replied. The man looked at him and hesitated briefly, before nodding.

"I see." he said, making Akira frown. _Way to make things strange, I guess._ And then right afterwards, the man deadpanned. "Aren't you a little young to be running a cafe?" asked the man.

Akira simply shrugged. "Would you like some coffee?" he asked, dodging the question. The man raised an eyebrow before sighing and nodding.

"I heard from a co-worker that you made good drinks. A house blend please." said the man.

Akira nodded, grabbing a cup as he started to work on the drink. "Can I get your name, by any chance?"

"Shota Aizawa." replied the man.

Akira nodded slightly to confirm as he worked his way over to his beans.

* * *

Shota Aizawa felt awkward as he sat on one of the cafe's tables. A cafe that was apparently run by an owner that looked no older than 15, the age of a kid he was supposed to be _teaching._ Vlad King had conveniently left out that detail when he had recommended Leblanc Cafe.

Aizawa sighed. Honestly, he couldn't bother to do anything with said information. It was obvious the kid was dodgy around the topic, meaning he _was_ younger than he was supposed to be, but he obviously wasn't doing anything seriously bad, and he knew what he was doing. At least, from what he could see anyway.

_Though what's the point of lying like that about his quirk? It's not like he knows who I am and my ability to arrest him, right? If that was the case, he wouldn't ask about my quirk. Or was that just to dodge suspicions? Or maybe, was my quirk just not working correctly?_

God, he couldn't think right now. Not when he was this sleepy. In short, Aizawa needed coffee. Good coffee. And Akira Kurusu, villain or vigilante criminal status aside, was a coffee provider.

And if he made good coffee, Aizawa would hardly want to see his shop go.

Looking around the cafe, he almost felt nostalgic. The place was... Vintage. It was seriously vintage, but the pro hero couldn't complain. The design was comfortable, oozing with a degree of homemade-ness that made people feel warm and welcome. At least, unless they tried to pull a criminal investigation on the cafe's owner.

Looking at the young man once more, Aizawa noticed the name tag. _Akira Kurusu, huh? I guess it does fit his look._

Then, the young man finished the coffee and put it down on his table, finished with 2 sugar cubes along the side of the plate. _Classy_ , Aizawa thought as he raised the cup and took a sip, ignoring the sugar cubes.

...

This was good. This was _really_ good. The pro hero hadn't tasted such good coffee in years, if not _ever_. _To think that such a place is in walking distance to U.A..._

Aizawa made a mental note to visit LeBlanc cafe again. Next time, maybe he would try some of the food as well. Vlad King had recommended the curry...

Either way, god knew he needed some more good coffee. Still... as a pro hero, it irked him to simply _leave it be._ Aizawa slapped himself mentally. _I can't let this get in the way of doing my job._

Grimacing, the quirk eraser stood up and approached the kid on the counter, the cup of coffee already finished. "How old are you, kid?" asked Aizawa, a stern look on his face. In response, the kid gave a perfectly normal poker face. _Huh. So I managed to catch him last time by making him question whether I was hostile... But now that he knows I'm not going to deliberately harm him, the kid's not gonna give away anything._

It was strange for a boy who looked so young to be adept at such a skill. _If I didn't know better, I would have actually believed he has nothing to hide._ Aizawa was almost jealous. _Or maybe he's actually legally able to own a cafe like this. I may be overthinking this far too much... But there's no harm in checking just in case._

"18." Kurusu briskly replied, showing no trace of emotion save for a flicker of amusement that confused the pro hero even more if anything. _Is he trying to intentionally throw me off track, or is that the actual truth?_ Aizawa grumbled, his patience for thinking running out.

"I'm not gonna report you, kid. Honest." Aizawa said. The kid hesitated briefly before smiling.

"I guess you're right. In reality, I look younger than my actual age. I'm 20." said Kurusu.

Aizawa deadpanned, and Kurusu smirked.

"I'm planning on enrolling in UA this year." the boy finally said, which somehow didn't surprise Aizawa at all.

"So you're 15?" he asked, making the boy shake his head.

"16." said Kurusu. Aizawa frowned.

"What made you suddenly trust me?" he asked, staring at the strange coffee shop owner, who smirked and pointed at his eyes as they started to glow blue again. Immediately, Aizawa turned on his quirk again and found no results. The kid's quirk was still on.

"I have somewhat of a lie detector as part of my quirk." said Kurusu.

"And that's what you're going to UA with? A lie detector quirk?" Aizawa questioned. The boy shook his head with a knowing smile.

"I have something else hidden in my sleeve as well, but showing that to you would be unfair, don't you think?"

Aizawa nodded to himself. That explanation _did_ make sense. "UA's hard to get into, kid." he finally decided to say. Kurusu only nodded in response, a rather cocky looking smile plastered onto his face.

Aizawa finished his coffee in silence before he left Leblanc. _Shame_ , he thought. _I do like this coffee quite a lot._

* * *

Akira quickly exited the all new Leblanc cafe and flipped the sign behind him, locking the door as he headed left to where his small apartment was. The place was rather small, which really made lots of sense considering his current profits were technically supposed to be from a small, private cafe.

While his _other_ day job in the Metaverse had turned him into a de-facto upper class rich kid with loads of money and nothing to do with said money, he did have to maintain an image so the public and the police didn't suspect him of being involved with the mafia, or something possibly worse.

Besides, he didn't mind the apartment. He liked it, even. After all, he was someone who had lived in a cafe attic for a year with what was basically a rock for a bed. Compared to that, this was practically heaven. He even had a cool friendly neighbor that was his age. All that was missing now was Sojiro and Futaba, and his independent-ish life would be complete.

Akira sighed before waving the thought from his mind.

How long had it been now? A month? A year? He wasn't quite sure how much time had passed since the day he woke up in a world where heroism was a legitimate career opportunity, and people were idealistic goody two shoes. He had to admit, once he had gotten accustomed to everything that rushed towards him at breakneck paces, it wasn't half bad. Musutafu city here? It was loads better than Tokyo where he had come from.

Still, he couldn't help but miss his friends. The Phantom Thieves had become his brothers and sisters throughout the course of the year, and by the end of his probation, Akira had finally felt like his life had been looking up. He had amazing friends, an actual father figure, a constant companion in the form of a fictional criminal, and bonds that would last him his entire life.

And then in the blink of an eye, it had all vanished like a dream.

Akira banished his thoughts before speeding up his pace. _God_ , he thought. _I really wonder if this is all some dream sometimes. Maybe the universe just likes screwing with me._

That was when he heard it. A voice in an awfully familiar tone.

"Get off me!"

_Oh fuck off._

Nope. Nope. Absolutely not. This was not happening to him _again._ It was just a coincidence. He would just turn the other way, not get in trouble, keep his cafe, and _not_ get arrested. He was absolutely not falling for this bull-

_Oh what am I thinking._

Akira paused his thoughts and looked down, somehow unsurprised to see that he had moved several steps towards where he had heard the voice. For some strange reason, the thought made him smile. _I guess I really can't stop myself after all._

Sighing, he steeled his nerves for the bullshit that was about to happen, and made a confident face before equipping his strongest physical persona, _Yoshitsune_ and bounding forwards towards the source of the voice with an inhuman degree of speed, quirk usage laws be damned.

Quickly, he found where exactly the voice was coming from. A middle aged woman with brown hair being harassed by a drunk man that happened to be bald.

_Oh, you've gotta be shitting me._

Well at least he wouldn't get arrested for this. Hopefully. He wasn't putting the idea behind him seeing as the sheer circumstance that made him bump into something like _this_ was bordering on divine fuckery anyways. But this world was much less corrupt than his own, from what he had seen so far.

Just as Akira started to move forwards to pull the man, something caught his eye. Another awfully familiar sight.

Widening his eyes, he instantly froze on the spot and snapped his head backwards, looking at the street behind him for any irregularities, and hoping for none. _Wa_ _s that what I think it is? I had to have seen it incorrectly, right? There's no way that I just saw what I saw,_ he convinced himself.

But the glowing blue butterfly right behind him seemed to mock him to the very core. Out from it came an awfully familiar voice.

**_You know the word, Akira._ **

_**You know what to say.** _

_**You know what to do, don't you?** _

After a brief moment of hesitation, Akira sighed before keeping down the urge to simply chortle at what was happening to him. Again. _So that's what he's playing at now, huh? Well in that case, I better play along. I don't really wanna defy something like this anyway._

It was time to let loose.

_Well played, Igor._

Switching his persona from _Yoshitsune_ to _Arsene_ , Akira strode forwards to the scene at a slightly slower pace that was almost leisurely. There was no need for him to get close for what he was about to pull anyways. He just needed the man's full attention. And he had many ways to get the attention of a complete drunkard.

As he finally got in range of the man and the woman, he sighed. _God, this is absolutely a horrible idea._

_**But it is what you desire, no?** _

Akira didn't respond, merely dipping his head down briefly as a white, form fitting mask with black details appeared on his face.

"Oi, asshole!" Akira yelled. The man stopped touching the woman briefly as his face shifted to one of heavy rage and he turned to Akira. For a brief moment, his eyes were filled with fear before reverting back to barely containing raging anger. _Good. Total undivided attention is what I need._ After all, he considered himself quite the fabulous showman.

"Get the fuck out of my sight, kid!" yelled the man. Akira ignored the man's comment, instead grabbing the edge of his mask with practiced confidence. _Man, I never thought I would ever do this in the real world._

"PERSONA!" he yelled.

And then, hell broke loose.

* * *

Akira considered himself as someone who had experienced his fair share of weird. He had entered into a parellel dimension to change the cognition of corrupt grade-A douches, one of his best friends had been a talking cat, and he had once summoned the spirit of Satan himself to save christmas.

But this? This unnerved him and for the love of god he could _not_ find out why.

To put it short, he had summoned his Persona and made a drastic showing of scaring away a drunkard. He had to admit, he hadn't properly let out his other self in a while, and it felt rather good to cut loose and be _Joker_ for a while. However, what came _after that_ was a problem.

He knew that he was going to get arrested for unlicensed quirk use. In fact, that had been his plan all along. He was perfectly aware that the blue butterfly wouldn't appear without reason, and had acted accordingly. No, him getting arrested was something he had expected all along.

On the other hand, he didn't expect exactly _what_ would happen in this new world's temporary prison wards. In retrospect, they were rather similar to how they treated the newly arrested in Tokyo. He had been escorted to an interrogation room and handcuffed, and had been told to wait for someone to come.

The difference between Musutafu here and Tokyo in his world was that while Tokyo had actual officers doing the interrogations, this city somehow made _Pro Heroes_ do their jobs. Which was what created Akira's current situation, wherein he was being interrogated by what looked like a chibi polar bear.

He almost wanted to reach out and headpat the thing. Makoto would have thought the thing as cute, considering her liking for a _certain_ like of merchandise products.

"Kurusu Akira, that is your name, yes?" the... thing asked. Akira nodded silently as the bear continued. "You are Kurusu Akira, and I am Nezu! Is that correct?"

Akira deadpanned. "Is your name not Nezu?" _God, the thing is too innocent looking to take seriously._ Was that a tail just now? _So it's not a bear but... a white rat? That's even stranger than what I thought before. I thought rats were supposed to be tiny, and more importantly, illiterate._

This new world would never stop the surprises, wouldn't it?

"Mr. Kurusu, you don't seem to exist!" Nezu suddenly said. Akira stared at him before holding back a wince. _He's talking about public records isn't he..._ While Akira _technically_ had a forged citizenship that allowed him to own a house and run a cafe, he wasn't actually listed in any official documents. He hadn't expected _that_ to be the first thing that the creature had brought up.

He had a strange feeling that trying to outwit Nezu, whatever the hell he or she was, was going to be a huge pain in the ass.

Quickly, he activated his third eye to check for any form of hostility. The policemen outside the interrogation room briefly flashed yellow, while Nezu remained at a calm green. _Good. That means that this guy has no intention to actually harm me._ Although on second thought, he wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel better about that. Unfortunately for him though, using his third eye had some visible _effects._

Once his eyes stopped flashing an eerie blue, Nezu looked at him with a knowing smile. The type that Akechi wore. That somehow distrubed Akira more than anything about the talking rat so far. Despite the fact that they had somehow worked out their respective issues in the end, his memories of the second coming of the detective prince were certainly far from fond.

Despite what he felt, he couldn't shake the feeling off that regardless of what would have happened, Akechi would have been his enemy. Even if they were the best of friends, Akechi would be the enemy of the Phantom Thieves. He would be Akira's rival no matter what.

He hated that feeling.

"Mr. Kurusu, are you aware that those handcuffs are quirk restraining?" asked Nezu.

_Shit._

He hadn't even known those things existed.

"By any chance, could you show me a demonstration of your abilities?" the rat continued. Akira stared. _Abilities. Not quirk. He's caught on to something. Playing on with a lead. Trying to goad me, putting words into my mouth. That rat is being a real damn rat._

Akira sighed as Nezu remained smiling.

Snapping his fingers through his quirk-restraining handcuffs, he whispered a familiar spell. " _Eiha_ ," he said, as a tiny azure colored flame flared to life on his fingertips before dying, sending a blast of curse ridden black and red energy towards the ceiling. In the end though, _Eiha_ wasn't a fire or lightning related spell, so it wouldn't do anything to physical buildings. Only living things.

Nezu didn't look surprised for a second. In fact, the bear looked almost happy as he put his paws together.

Akira couldn't help it. The little rat looked _cute._

"Now, what an interesting powerset you have! In fact, it's so interesting that I would wonder why you aren't trying to use your abilities for the betterment of humankind!"

_Oh, fuck off._

"I will make you an offer, Mr. Kurusu. To enroll in one of the greatest hero schools in the world and hone your abilities to be a pro hero." said Nezu. "I often don't make recommendations like this, but I find enough potential in you to be an astoundingly phenomenal hero one day. Your powerset is suited for the job after all."

"And you're doing this all from the kindness of your heart?" Akira scoffed. Nezu nodded with a smile on his face. "I can tell that you're lying with that. There's an ulterior motive behind what you're doing, isn't there?" he asked. _After all, there's no way that he-_

"I promise you, I simply wish to see a prospective hero grow into a true hero, Mr. Kurusu." said Nezu. Akira looked at the animal curiously.

"No, there's more than that. You want to keep tabs on me. To watch and keep track of me. Because you don't understand everything that going on about me, despite the way you act. After all, there are zero public records, and all you have is camera footage of me doing nothing but scaring off a man and a demonstration that didn't show you _anything_. You're pretending to be in control of the situation so that _I_ end up thinking that way too." Akira retorted. "Almost like a giant chess game."

"Well, you _could_ always consider the alternative of going to prison-"

"That I could easily break out of, guards and quirk restraining handcuffs be damned."

"And then what, Mr. Kurusu? Will you simply live your life as a renegade forever?"

"I would rather do that than be controlled by a... whatever the hell you are."

Nezu smiled widely. "I am apalled, Mr. Kurusu. I would have thought a man working in a customer service industry would be more sensitive to the aspects of his potential customers and buyers." said the mouse. Akira narrowed his eyes.

"And you're one of my customers now?" he asked.

"Of course!" said Nezu. "After all, I am the one capitalizing on your abilities... Or possible abilities to extend my own agenda. I am a buyer of your services, and you seem to be refusing them to me, Mr. Kurusu. Truly, I am disappointed at the lack of sympathy. I can only hope that you are better to customers of your cafe."

"You know nothing about my abilities."

"But judging by that statement just now, I do a little more."

_Oh, that rat._

"Think about it Mr. Kurusu. Your personal freedoms shall not be visibly or noticably intruded on once you enroll in UA. You will live an ordinary student life like anyone else in the Academy. And besides, wouldn't you simply adore my company?" asked Nezu.

"I refuse to be treated like some sort of lab rat. I'm not a test subject you can study to check what I can do." Akira retorted. Somehow, this made Nezu almost visibly flinch before the rat gained control over himself once more and composed his tie, letting out a huff.

"Believe me Mr. Kurusu that that is the last thing on my mind right now. I was a test subject once myself, and I do not wish to inflict such harm on an individual such as you. I simply wish for you to... play a game. I do indeed see the seeds of heroism burning within you. You saved that lady after all. Perhaps you may believe that I am actively working against you, but that part, I assure you, was a complete truth."

"What's in it for me?"

"A life outside of being a criminal and a renegade. After all, you _do_ want to live your life on the good side of the public, no?"

Akira flinched, thinking of the Phantom Thieves in their earlier phases. It... hadn't been nice. _Wait... that blue butterfly... a school setting... is this leading where I think it is?_

"Fine." he said. "I'll take your deal."

Nezu clapped his paws once more. "Splendid! We will have the documents prepared for you in a week. Do prepare for the entrance exams. We wouldn't want you getting into UA unfairly, no?"

_Entrance exams... He doesn't know anything notable about my power but he's using pure guesswork to estimate that they can be useful in combat. What would give it away? My gestures? Facial expressions? Either way, if he's so confident in this entire ordeal, he must be some sort of psychogenius._

As Nezu left the room, Akira sighed, hunching his back. Quickly, a guard entered the room and uncuffed the boy, lightly tapping him to get his attention.

"You're to walk away with no charges." said the guard with a face Akira couldn't quite read.

_Bullshit. There is a charge. And a big one at that._

He sighed. _I guess that one lie I told Aizawa is catching up to me. Damn it, I shouldn't have said I would enroll in UA. The gods really must be insistent on making me a well behaved citizen..._

As the trickster exited the police station, he wondered what would be next in store for him.


	2. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akira does things.

"Man, what a mess..."

Akira laid back on his apartment's bed, looking up at the ceiling. Nezu had offered him a chance to stay at UA until the entrance exam to settle the documents and get some training, but he had declined, telling the mouse that he would be there during the entrance exam and afterwards, leaving the principal to do the paperwork on his own. Akira would have almost felt bad, if the sneaky gremlin hadn't put him into such a strange position. He wasn't quite sure on how he felt about training to be a pro-hero, after all. After a year as one of Japan's most wanted criminal vigilante's, the thought itself was slightly unnerving.

Being a nice, law abiding citizen who rescued people and fought villains. The thought itself wasn't so bad. He had founded the Phantom Thieves because he wanted to help people, after all. He would still be helping people as a pro-hero, just under more jurisdiction.

And it wasn't like the Phantom Thieves were required here. Shido didn't exist. Kamoshida didn't exist. People were on the whole, less manipulative and more altruistic. They were _good_. The state of Mementos alone showed that. He was on his last legs as a vigilante fighting off distorted desires.

Still, he wasn't sure of whether he was fine with being restricted by the Government in his actions. It went against everything he had built up over the past year. The spirit of altruistic rebellion didn't match up with the definition of a pro-hero in modern Musutafu.

_Will... will my powers disappear as well?_

Akira frowned. His powers were manifested through the will of rebellion after all. Without that same will fueling him onward, it was fully possible that his powers would simply go _Pop_ and disappear. _Which is another good point for going against the government... My powers would still be intact because I would be a vigilante rebelling against the laws._

Nezu's words suddenly rang out to him.

_"_ _And then what, Mr. Kurus_ _u? Will you simply live your life as a renegade forever?"_

_Fuck. Fuck that stupid rat._ Akira felt himself washed over by a sudden wave of a feeling he couldn't quite fathom. Anger? Disappointment? Regret? Longing? He wasn't so sure. But the Phantom Thieves came to his mind. Not the organization, but the members that made it what it was. His friends.

Maybe what he was feeling right now was a mixture of everything. Akira wasn't sure. But he knew he hated it. He hated himself for missing his old life, but also hated himself for running away from his own thoughts. Most of all, he hated that little _goblin_ of a rat for saying what he said.

_But he's right, isn't he? If I go down the route of a vigilante, there's a likely chance I'll be going solo forever. When heroes are so abundant, ones that don't follow the law are going to be rare, and I'm going to have the entire world against the very existence of my career. With the Phantom Thieves I could handle it... Hell, I would have handled it even before the Phantom Thieves... but now..._

Could he do it again? Could he lose everything after he had gained a taste of the holy grail?

Was his rebellion worth the price of the bonds that made up his _World_?

God, he needed a break. Maybe he would just sleep on it for a while, and the answer would come to him. _It's all just a question of priorities in the end, isn't it? What's more important than what? Can I compromise A for B? Can I deny the opportunity to gain something for the price of something else?_

He gasped. _Maybe Igor has the answers. That blue butterfly... It couldn't have just been an illusion. It means that the Velvet Room is back for me. Right? That has to be it..._

A certain key suddenly felt heavier in his pocket. Akira quickly took it out, looking at the blue key's simple design. It had been a constant during his time in Tokyo, so much so that he expected that he would likely never forget the shape of the blue key in his hand.

The key to the Velvet Room.

Akira gulped. _Just like the first time, maybe?_

Holding the key in his hand, he laid himself down on the bed, closing his eyes and letting his brain enter the realm of sleep. He _damn_ hoped that he would start seeing blue chains soon. _If I'm going into something like this without Igor, or even a replacement Igor like Yalbaboath, I'm most probably screwed._

A blue key resided in his right hand, gripped tight.

* * *

Blue chains didn't appear. Nor did an awfully eerie looking prison room. Instead, Akira opened his eyes to a whole new landscape all together. _God dammit... I thought that I could do this like last time, but I guess I just need to look for a door, or let Igor or Lavenza do their jobs... Unless I'm just lying to myself and I really am going delusional._

The landscape was nothing like the prison room he was used to. Instead, the landscape that spread out before him was easily one of the most bizarre sights he had encountered in his life, palaces included. It seemed like he was quite literally inside a landscape. As in, a landscape painting.

Except it was... incomplete. Like only the barest scratches and sketches of a full painting were laid out before him. It felt like he was stepping on a wobbly bridge that would shatter the moment he decided to shift his weight even a little bit. To think that his head could conjure up an image like this was almost a bit unnerving.

Akira lifted his foot, seeing a ripple expand outwards from where the shoe had been. _It's... water?_ Akira thought, widening his eyes. Briefly pausing, he looked back at the landscape before him to find that indeed, there was the slightest bit of a reflection of the cloudless sky that laid lazily above him. In fact, that wasn't it. It almost seemed as if...

Akira paused. _Could it be?_

Sucking in the atmosphere briefly in an inhale, Akira blew out air from his mouth in an almost comical fashion. _Thank god. I think I breathed here before, but I needed to check just in ca-_

Air bubbles were floating in front of him. _Air bubbles._ Great, so now apparently he had metaphorical gills here, in his dreamscape. It was almost enough to convince him that it was a product of the metaverse and the Velvet Room, but he had been in that prison room _way_ too many times. This looked and felt nothing like it.

 _So that would mean that the ink in this room is ink resting on top of water... Except the ink can't shift or move. I can't permanently affect it._ To test his theory, Akira made his way over to a line of ink in the vast canvas, and stepped on it, making the lines separate briefly before the ink condensed again into its original shape.

_Great._

Akira paused. _Wait. Is that..._

Widening his eyes, he looked down again at his reflection in the water, his hands instantly raising upwards to his face to feel something he was _sure_ hadn't been there before. Then, two things happened simultaneously. Akira's hands grasped a familiar pointy shape resting on top of his face, and he looked down at his reflection to see his face obscured by a mask.

A white domino mask with black inking.

_It wasn't there before. I'm sure of it._

Biting his lips from a slight panic beginning to arise within him, Akira lowered his hands once again, only to find them a crimson red. Not the type of covering where he had dipped his hands in blood, but the matte, silky covering of familiar looking gloves.

The Phantom Thief kind.

 _Alright, jokes over. Where the hell is this place? There's no way that this **isn't** connected to the metaverse anymore. Nu-uh. Too many hi-jinks and gimmicks to tick me off for this not to be connected in some way or form. _Turning on his third eye and letting his eyes shine blue, Akira gazed around the place, looking for _any_ clue regarding where exactly he was.

"I see you've finally figured it out."

Akira gasped. _I know that voice._ He had heard it seldom compared to a much more familiar albeit sinister sounding voice, but he knew it all the same. After all, the voice and its owner were way too distinctly eccentric for him to even have a chance at forgetting them.

"Yes trickster, your ears are not playing tricks on you. Welcome back, my dear resident."

Akira instantly turned his form backwards to see a form that he somehow hadn't expected yet had expected to see for what felt like quite a long time. _Oh, you fucking tricky gremlin._

Igor, in all of his long nosed glory, sat on a luxurious golden chair laden with blue velvet coverings, an office workdesk in front of him. The man smiled, and Akira suddenly felt the need to convince himself once more that he had actually come _looking_ for Igor.

"Igor." Akira said. "Where in the world am I?"

"Why, have you not figured it out already?" said Igor, smiling. "You are in the Velvet Room, of course."

"The velvet room was a prison, not whatever this is." Akira said.

"The velvet room is none of those, trickster. It is merely a tidbit of your cognition on how you view the world around you. During your initial journey, your _World_ and reality was initially conceived a prison trying to trap you in, birthing the spirit of rebellious willpower within you. However, that is no longer the case. In here, as you can see, we have an incomplete painting on a canvas. What does that say about you, trickster? Indulge me." said Igor, grinning.

Akira put two fingers on his chin, briefly falling into thought. "I see the world as an empty canvas? So... I need to paint the world?"

"Almost there, Mr. Kurusu. As of this current moment, your _soul_ is an empty canvas, devoid of anything but the last remnants of the things that were there before. Thus, your perception of the world is simply... empty. The stakes are not as high anymore for you. There is no color or shape to protect and preserve. Do you have an idea of what was there before, by any chance?"

"Bonds." Akira instantly answered.

"Not just that, but spirit as well. The spirit of rebellion. That spirit, along with your bonds, are a husk of what they were before now, due to your own behavior and dare I say it- personality. This canvas was once filled, and now the last remnants of it are barely hanging on."

"So what do I need to do?" Akira asked. _This is... distressing._

"Why, it's obvious, no? You must recreate what you have lost. Paint a new picture. Find a new motivation that speaks to you just as much as the spirit of rebellious justice you held previously. Forge your bonds once more. Fill up the canvas, trickster. Or you will suffer all the more for it." said Igor.

_Oh._

Somehow, he felt like he knew where this conversation was starting to go. And he wasn't sure if he liked it or not.

Igor held out a clipboard and a pencil. "Sign your name to begin your journey, trickster. Your only terms are that you must take responsibility for your actions. But know that by beginning this journey anew, you let go of the last traces of the bonds you have held dear thus far."

Akira hesitated. _Is it worth it? Igor said going down this route will only worsen everything... But do I want to let go of what I have right now? Can I even do that? Letting go of Tokyo and the Phantom Thieves? Maybe those bonds are weary and broken down, but..._

He looked back at the canvas that Igor had said was his soul. It looked worn down, broken. Like a painting that had aged past its time.

 _Yusuke would hate how this looks,_ he instantly thought.

Akira made his decision.

Snatching the clipboard off Igor's hand, he scribbled down his name while the long nosed man merely chuckled. "I sense you know what to do from now on, trickster. Just remember to look towards the future more than you do the past. Use it for guidance, but let it go. Your forming of this contract may have cleansed your soul thus far, but it is up to you and only you if you want to move forward for good."

Akira nodded, looking back at the canvas. It was plain white. Empty.

Somehow, he felt much better.

"Goodbye, Mr. Kurusu. For now, at least. I hope that you succeed in the challenges and hurdles that lay ahead of you." said Igor, as Akira felt a sudden pull on his back, redirecting him to the real world. "Oh." Igor suddenly interrupted. "Did I forget to mention? A great calamity, a danger unparalleled is coming to you. Be sure to succeed against it, my dear resident."

Akira's last thought in his new Velvet Room was the urge to scream at an absolute gremlin of a man.

* * *

Breakfast for Akira was always the same. Coffee and curry, just like the one in Tokyo. Although he admitted- with no small amount of shame- that his cooking skills overall were absolutely abysmal, he had completely drilled the recipe for the perfect coffee and curry recipes in his mind, and had practiced them so many times that they had been drilled into his muscle memory. They were really the only thing he was possible of cooking, other than Instant Ramen. But when he cooked coffee and curry, he could cook it damn well.

He had learned from a master after all.

Sipping the last part of his coffee, he quickly grabbed his meal and put it in the sink, planning to wash it later in the day when he was back home. For now, he had to visit UA. Nezu had insisted that any part of the day was fine if it was today, and Akira had nothing better to do anyway. He didn't quite see the point in delaying his visit.

_And besides, that dream last night..._

Igor wasn't one for subtlety, wasn't he? It was almost refreshing. The man spoke in riddles and hints and clues that were impossible to figure out half the time, and blatantly obvious the other half. But subtlety? That didn't exist at all for the master of the Velvet Room. Akira was honestly slightly thankful though that his task was one of the obvious hints this time around.

He needed to make a new painting. Using the same canvas, but different strokes and colors and brushes. A new journey. A new purpose and motivation that could exist within the world he now lived in. A way to let go of his old life and embrace the future.

He wasn't sure if he had done that yet. He felt... lighter after signing the contract that Igor had passed towards him, but... frankly, he wasn't quite sure how he would even tell if he had moved on or not. Was there supposed to be some part of his brain that _clicked_ into place? A pinging noise in his mind?

He put the thought to the side as he opened the door, stepping out onto the stairway to the bottom.

"Oh hi!" a voice called out from above him. Akira looked upwards to see a girl his age, with brown hair styled in a bob-cut, holding a basket of apples. A very large basket of apples. This happened to be his semi-neighbour, O... _What was her name?_ Akira remembered hearing it once when the girl had moved into the apartment and introduced herself to nearly everybody there, but that had been a month ago, and he hadn't really bothered to talk to her since then.

 _O...cha? Like the tea? I remember thinking it was like the tea._ Akira's face scrunched up in thought.

The girl quickly walked down the stairway to his floor, moving the basket with ease. _Jeez, she must be strong. That looks super heavy._

"It's weird, right? I think I've been your neighbour for a month, but I've never seen you after day 1! I thought you were some shut in for a while, hehe..." said the girl. "I got a huge basket of apples from my parents. They... like to send me lots of food. But I don't think I can eat this all before it rots, so I'm giving some out to everyone here!"

 _Bubbly_. That was the first thought that came to his head. This girl was extremely excitable.

"That's nice." Akira said. "I forgot your name by the way, could you remind me?"

"Ochako Uraraka. You said your name was... Akira, right? Akira... Kurusu. That was it." said the girl.

Akira nodded, and the girl suddenly reached into her basket and held out an apple. "Want an apple?"

Akira thanked her and took it. The girl smiled before moving downstairs again, presumably to give out more apples. Seeing as Akira was headed there anyways, he followed her, shoving his hands into his pockets (Oh, the nostalgia) and walking down the stairs.

"Oh, you're going downstairs too? Why?" asked Uraraka. Akira chuckled.

"I'm going outside. What did you think I was going out of my apartment for?" he said.

"You could have just wanted a breath of fresh air or something." the girl retorted. Akira put a hand out of his pocket and raised his index finger upwards.

"I could just open the window for that... I may look like a shut in, but I'm not actually one, you know."

The brown haired girl looked slightly apologetic at that particular comment. "Sorry for just assuming that... I probably said something really stupid, didn't I?" she said. Akira laughed, and she glared at him. "And besides, you _do_ look an awful lot like a socially awkward shut in. You even have the glasses to finish the look!"

 _That's... new. My glasses? They're supposed to give me a tamer look... Do I really look like a shut in?_ He would have to check on that when he went home.

"Where are you going anyway?" asked Uraraka. Akira hesitated, briefly contemplating whether to tell her the truth or not. _I guess there's no real harm. It's not like this stuff is super confidential knowledge anyway, and I can just pass off as a normal UA hopeful._

"I'm planning to walk over to UA for a bit. I'm signing up for the entrance exam for the heroics course, but I have a bit of a... special case that needs to be dealt with, so I need to sign a few documents and such. Nothing too fancy." he said. The girl's eyes widened almost comically.

"Wait, are you a recommendation student?" she asked. Akira scrunched up his face. _A recommendation student? What's that supposed to mean. I mean, I suppose by that logic I was recommended in by Nezu... Although the more accurate term would be forced to enter._

Maybe he was doing this willingly now, but he still wanted to get back at the rat. Maybe he would replace the cheese in his meal with something less savory. _Does he even like cheese? Can he eat normal food like the rest of us? He is pretty oversized after all..._

God, this world was something else.

"I guess you could say that." Akira responded. "I'm not really sure though."

"That must mean your quirk is super powerful. Is it something like super strength? Super speed?"

"It's a secret."

The girl pouted.

"Anyways, one more thing. I'm actually headed over to UA as well today to sign up, so wanna walk together?" asked Uraraka. Akira looked at her strangely. _Isn't there an online webpage that you can sign up in for UA? Why not use that? Wouldn't that just be way more convenient?_

"Isn't there an online sign up page?" Akira asked. At this, Uraraka deflated a bit.

"I don't have an internet connection right now." she said. "But that's ok! I called one of the agents there, and he said I could just come today to sign up, and I could get all the paperwork done and take the entrance exam."

"You don't have an internet connection?" he asked.

"I'm... trying to live without spending too much money right now." she responded. _Oh, so that's how it is._

Akira didn't ask any more questions, and neither did the girl. The two walked to UA in silence.

* * *

Overall, the entire ordeal went smoother than Akira had originally expected. Nezu, the scheming rat, had done most of the paperwork in advance, so all that was really left for him was to skim over the papers and sign his name. It had honestly surprised him that Nezu had been well, completely honest with him during the prison interrogation when he had laid out the terms.

He really was pretty much a normal student. The only part was that his quirk would take priority when being monitored. It was honestly slightly refreshing to have a principal like Nezu. He still wasn't a fan of the rat because _screw him_ , but it was a welcome change compared to Shujin's Kobayakawa. Sure, the little thing was an ass sometimes, but he was refreshingly blunt about it. At least, that was the impression Akira had so far. For all he knew, Nezu was playing mind games with everything behind the scenes, manipulating objects and people like chess pieces.

But for some reason, he had a good feeling about UA's principal. A feeling that suggested no actual ill will from the creature.

As he walked out the front gates of UA's Hero Education building, he briefly glanced around for any trace of Uraraka. There were none. _She's probably still doing something or she's already gone. No use in waiting. I guess I'll just talk to her later when we bump into each other or something._ For some reason, a guilty afterthought had arised when Akira thought about the girl. _That probably wasn't the best first impression. She has a chance of being in my class later in UA as well... Either way, everything aside, I should probably make things less awkward... If they are awkward._

Akira sighed. He hated this. With the Phantom Thieves, he had gotten to know them to a point where he was basically synergized with their emotions, reactions, and states of thought, and vice versa. Except maybe Yusuke. Only god knew what went on inside the head of the artist.

Seeing as the Phantom Thieves were pretty much everyone he hung out with save for a few adults and sometimes Mishima, there had almost never been a situation of silence or awkwardness. The thieves had become like siblings. Now though, he felt like he was an outcast all over again.

_Maybe I'm not actually an outcast... Actually, that's probably a big stretch. But still, trying to make new friends is tiring. Social scenarios were never really my forte before Tokyo anyway. At least, not in making genuine friendships. I was always just floating around, making quips and breaking rules. With the Phantom Thieves, the friendship felt natural. We went through thick and thin and risked our lives for each other. It would be impossible not to be as close as family. This on the other hand..._

Now, he suddenly realized that he was seriously a fish out of water here. _Man, this feels like my old school all over again._

Akira slumped before walking out of the UA gates, removing the thoughts from his mind. He would deal with said thoughts later. Now, he needed to think of something else entirely.

_What to do?_

Akira scrunched up his face in thought, trying to come up with ideas. _Training? My physical body isn't a pushover at all, and when I equip a persona like Yoshitsune... I probably don't really need too much training. I would need some form of exercise to keep in form, but nothing intensive is really necessary._

And besides, there was the rather tricky obstacle involving the fact that his 'quirk' was a rather flashy one, making it so that bringing out his personae to their complete forms would more likely than not get him arrested, unless he was in a private area. _Actually,_ _I can probably find a private area somewhere. Now that I think about it, I could certainly improve on synergizing my mental and physical state with my Personae. That was something I never really 'got' back in Tokyo. Ryuji and Haru were really good at it though... Maybe it has to do with carrying the heaviest weapons?_

It certainly was an interesting coincidence. He noted it in his head. _So, I need to start swinging around battleaxes and baseball bats to become closer with my Personae? Or is it something to do with their personality? Maybe they have something that just clicks for them._

Either way, it was certainly a good idea to train his personae's physical movements. After all, they were the only thing he _could_ train at this point. Elemental spells were anything _but_ like a muscle. They were extremely and utterly calculated attacks that did specific allocations of damage. Not to mention the fact that they were easy as pie to call on. _But what other options do I have?_

There was certainly the other option of just constantly being in Leblanc for the entire day. Becoming a full time coffee owner... temporarily. At the moment, Leblanc wasn't open on Wednesdays and weekends. Perhaps now that he didn't have any particular reason to explore the metaverse, he would just attend to the cafe all day. Although he wasn't short on funds by any means, it was a fun pastime to make coffee and curry. He rather enjoyed it.

The only real negative to that decision was the fact that he would feel like his time was being wasted. Although he wasn't certainly in dislike of the idea of running the coffee shop all week, he wasn't jumping in joy at the idea either. He wanted to make some use of the 10 months he had been given.

_After all, there's probably a reason Igor appeared to me now. It's saying that my journey's already begun. And that means that I need to spend my days efficiently and logically. I need to implement some form of a training schedule, do something about persona movement imitation, and..._

_Forge bonds. That's the only answer that's possible. I need to forge bonds for when UA comes,_ Akira decided. Now that he thought about it a bit more, it almost felt like this new journey, or at least his current phase in his new journey was like the beginning of the Phantom Thieves. _So UA is like... act 2? I guess by that logic, it would all add up._

_Alright. So I need to start training, and making friends, all while maintaining Leblanc. That's a plan I can certainly work with._

Akira nodded to himself as he increased his pace, deciding to take the route involving the city square. Maybe there would be a few items he would be interested in. Turning left, he started walking towards the shopping center, scanning his eyes over the different items and products that were on sale.

And then, something very hard hit him.

Immediately, Akira felt the sensation of being flung backwards as he flew through the air and barely made a proper landing on the ground. _Ow, that freaking hurt. Is that... a massive slime with a kid inside of it? What the hell?_ The scene looked quite like a villain attack. Or at least, a villain attack by this world's terms. He wasn't sure what the rule was on quirks that made someone's body... like _that._

Quickly, he decided to cast a Dia on himself, muttering the spell and removing the small injuries on his body. _Thank god I don't need to physically summon a persona to cast most of my spells. These make life so much easier sometimes,_ he thought to himself as he decided to follow up the Dia with a Tarukaja and a Rakukaja. Instantly, he felt his body grow stronger and more secure, augmented through the magic.

_Doesn't hurt to play it safe._

That was when he realized that the crowd had run away, and he was standing directly in front of the slime... villain thing.

Reflexes kicking in, he jumped backwards just as a massive explosion created a crater on the ground he once stood on. _Holy shit, is that the slime's quirk as well or is it the kid's?_ he wondered. As soon as his feet hit the ground once more, he jumped backwards again, finding himself back in the crowd.

_I can't just use my powers to attack him... That might harm the kid in the process as well. There's also quirk usage laws to consider... Actually, isn't there a section about self defense? But would that apply here? If I run towards the villain to charge him right now, that would make me the aggravator. Does that mean I just missed a chance to-_

And then, a kid started dashing right towards the villain.

The action immediately shook Akira out of his train of thought as the leader of the phantom thieves widened his eyes. _Is that kid just running towards the villain? What the hell is he trying to do?_ As the villain brought down an attack upon the running boy, Akira felt inclined to shout a warning.

And then, the kid dodged the attack and proceeded to throw a bag at the villain. The villain reeled back in pain, the kid ever sprinting onwards.

For some reason, Akira found himself smiling. _This kid has some guts, not even using his quirk._ Times like these were when Akira really started to feel reminded of how _heroic_ this world was. _He's probably not using his quirk to avoid the law, but it isn't stopping him from trying to save the boy._

Somehow, he felt like he was witnessing something important.

_Actually now that I think about it..._

Snapping his fingers, Akira cast a Tarukaja and a Rakukaja on the kid, who immediately got ever so slightly faster. _Never hurts to be safe, right?_

Jumping upwards _just_ high enough to not be considered a quirk, the kid grasped onto the boy trapped in the slime and pulled him out, quickly collapsing onto the ground as the _Tarukaja_ wore off. Akira widened his eyes as the villain brought down his slime once more to attack the two teenagers on the ground, preparing a quick _Agi_ spell.

And then, _he_ happened.

Akira had seen children gloss over his action figures, news reporters talk about him as if he was a god, and movies and tv shows and documentaries based solely off him. His public approval had been so amazing that Akira had checked to see if the man possessed a palace, only to find that the man's actual name was hidden from the public and thus him. He had tried to maintain a degree of suspicion, regardless of the fact that the man was the reason for this society's current state, just because of his sheer _inhumane_ online and public persona.

Witnessing the man for himself, he could see why the public was crazy.

In a single punch, All Might broke apart the heavens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like some people are gonna enjoy the way I write out this story, and some people won't. The thing about Persona protags is that they're sort of interpretive, which naturally leads to different interpretations. 
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading yet again, and please don't forget to leave a review!


	3. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More things happen.

Izuku Midoriya- all things considered- was having a pretty shitty day. It was like everything that had the possibility of going wrong for him went wrong for him. First, Kachaan had completely ruined his _Hero Analysis_ book and had thrown it away in the pond, rendering months and months of hard work pretty much useless. He usually took to Kachaan's... actions pretty well, seeing as he was the target of said actions every day, but this time it was just the worst. He wasn't exactly one to resort to violence, but that particular memory made him clench his fist in anger.

In the end, he had still been useless, hadn't he? He couldn't fight for himself. He had zero conviction, zero courage. Zero of the traits that were practically required to be a hero. The only thing he had was passion, but he knew for a fact that passion was nothing without the willpower and skill to back it up.

 _Not all men are born equal_ , he had always told himself.

It was a shame that it took a lesson from All Might himself to drill that lesson into _him._ He had thought that if he didn't let that bring his spirit down, it would all work out in the end, somehow. _But now that I look at it, all that it's done is prevent me from doing anything but write down notes._

He sighed. _It doesn't matter anyways now. What's done is done. Even All Might doesn't think I can be a hero._

He had thought he had gone to the hero for words of confirmation that his dream was valid, but that wasn't true. All Might had been his last chance. His last hope at some form of validation for him to ignore the truths that had been presented right in front of him for _so_ long.

But All Might wanted him to stay safe. To be realistic. And Izuku could see why. _The slime villain earlier... how do I have a chance of defeating something like that without a quirk. Actually, I think I did feel myself become stronger right then, but that was probably just my adrenaline talking._

Man, this really sucked.

Izuku slumped down his shoulders and walked the rest of the distance to his house, wiping his mind clear of Heroism, All Might, and Kachaan. For the first time in his life, he felt ever so slightly jealous of the blonde. Not the usual admiration, but jealousy.

_It must be nice to have a powerful quirk._

Izuku wiped the thought clear from his head. _No, that's not right. I didn't ask to be born with no quirk, and Kachaan didn't ask to be born with a strong one. In the end, it's just luck. I can't start being angry at things like that... That wouldn't be right at all. Not heroic._

"Hey kid!" called out a new voice. Izuku turned back to see where it was coming from, and scratched his head. Walking towards him was a frizzly nest of messy black hair perched upon a tall, lean frame. The stranger- at least he _thought_ the boy was a stranger, although Izuku couldn't be sure- had a smile plastered onto his face.

"...Who are you?" Izuku asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Akira Kurusu." said the now-not-a-stranger. "I saw you just now in the crowd. You rushed in like that without even using your quirk. That takes some serious guts. I wanted to talk to you after the entire thing finished, but you disappeared. Thankfully, you seem to live near me," he said. Kurusu then spread out his arms like a magician and flicked his wrists in a way that made Izuku slightly chuckle. "So here I am now. What you did back there was pretty damn heroic. Good job."

Izuku bit his lip.

Then, he smiled. "Thanks." he said before he briskly walked away.

_No. This is wrong. I can't just start thinking that I can be a hero again after all of this. Even Kurusu thinks I have a quirk, and that was why he called it heroic. Quirkless people can't be heroes. Quirkless people can't be heroes. Quirkless people can't be her-_

_Damn it._

He turned back. "Kurusu-san." he called out, making the boy look at him in curiosity. Izuku wasn't sure what he wanted to do as he marched up to the taller boy with determined eyes. "Don't go around saying things like that. I'm quirkless. I can't be a hero no matter what."

"That doesn't change that what you did was heroic." countered the boy, who suddenly sounded more... angry. "And stop trying to tell yourself that you're helpless. It's possible to win even the most bullshitting rigged games. You're fine, kid. Wait actually, how old are you?"

"15." Izuku said.

"Oh, so you're only a year younger than me." said Kurusu. Izuku winced, suddenly feeling _very_ self conscious of his rather... small height. _But my growth spurt hasn't ended yet. I can still hold out hope on this one..._ "Either way," he continued, "Take your time. If you think the circumstances are _bad_ for you, you should try and see some of the poker games I went through..."

Kurusu shuddered. Izuku wondered why.

"Anyways, I'm not gonna try and change your mind, seeing as you're so set on your path." said Kurusu. "Just make sure that it's what you want."

Then, Kurusu walked away. Izuku stared after the tall boy. _What an odd person_ , he thought. _What I want? What... do I want? I want to be a hero... No... More than that, I want the power to be a hero right now... I think..._ Izuku thought, scratching his head. _Man, this is all so confusing._

And then, All Might showed up out of nowhere, and Izuku screamed in surprise.

* * *

The day after Akira had gotten summoned by Nezu to finalize his documents, he had gotten a message from the rat (How in the world had Nezu gotten his phone number?) inviting him to campus to speak. Seeing as Akira was free anyways, he obliged and met the principal early in the morning.

Seemingly, the mouse only had one real question for him, said question being: "What is a hero?"

Ironically enough, Akira's first thought was of his enemy, Goro Akechi. He wasn't quite sure why. Personally, he attributed the fact towards the detective's squeaky clean public image. While Akechi was a douchebag when it came down to it, he had been a role model and a public figure the public looked up to.

An ideal hero, if one could exist in the real world.

His next thought was of the Phantom Thieves. Maybe it was slightly arrogant for him to think of them, though he wasn't quite sure. It had come rather naturally for him, after all. It _did_ comfort him however that he thought of the Phantom Thieves as a group, and not just the parts of a collective whole. He loved his friends, but when it came to perception, it was better for the Thieves of the metaverse to remain a single entity. He firmly believed it as such.

But he knew better than anyone that the Phantom Thieves wouldn't ever be able to become what they had become in Tokyo in this world. Not when people like All Might existed as a role model. _Although, that does raise a concern,_ he had thought, flashing back to his talk with Akechi.

When Akechi had asked him of the Phantom Thieves and his opinion on them- prior to the pancake incident, of course- he had replied with what he had been surprised to hear was his honest opinion: He was worried about them. About how they had a possibility of creating a system of dependency, where people would simply stand down and wait for the Phantom Thieves to save them.

It was why Akira had preferred people hating them, even when it felt frustrating sometimes. It was what he felt was the necessary circumstances for the group to operate without causing any deep rooted problems in general society. He was in more than one way, a spirit of rebellion after all. He despised it when people simply let their rights and existences trampled on.

And in many ways, wasn't All-Might, and even heroes in general to an extent, the same?

Of course, no one was actively oppressing anyone in most cases. This wasn't like his world, where money and reputation seemed to simply be _everything._ At least, that was his initial impression. He dearly hoped that it wouldn't change. But either way, this time around, what was pushing the people down were the simple factor of odds. Odds of survival against a villain attack.

After all, if a superhuman was attacking someone, said someone would probably be killed without outside assistance.

With heroes being so over saturated, people would simply be in constant faith that a hero would save them, despite the fact that there was always the small chance of there being an exception. It made people weak. Not physically, but mentally. It made them dependent and cocky of their safety.

Perhaps Akira couldn't blame them. Crime rates were at an all time low after all, and he couldn't fault All Might for doing his job well. Still, it grated at him that there would be people unwilling to fight even as a knife or a bullet sped towards them, waiting forever for heroes to save them.

Even heroes were people. They weren't infallible. Akira was sure of this.

In the end, he hadn't been able to find an answer to Nezu's question. Not because he was unwilling to answer, but because he wasn't sure of the answer himself. If he was still in Tokyo, he would have been sure that the Phantom Thieves would have been his answer.

Now, the paradigm had shifted. The methods and the answer lay far away, and Igor's criticism of his mental state was ever clearer. And Nezu, in all of his ratty greatness, had chuckled with a knowing smile that reminded him of an all too familiar gremlin.

Alright, it was official. Nezu was his public enemy number one. One day he would outwit that stupid animal and come out on top. Then, they would see who would be laughing.

Although it didn't help that his subconscious told him that the creature would probably enjoy it. _Dammit._

* * *

And thus began Akira's 10 months of... social deprivation. Complete. Utter. Social deprivation. It was almost brutally ironic. Back in Tokyo when he had tried to avoid making friends as much as possible, he had run into potential allies all over. This time, when he tried to actually _meet_ new people...

Well, the results were pretty self explanatory.

Uraraka was nowhere to be seen, presumably training all day long until late night. He had heard footsteps past midnight a few times before, and had assumed it was the bob cut girl. Midoriya, the boy with a green nest for a hairdo, was too busy training when Akira had seen him coincidentally. They had exchanged greetings a few times before, but nothing beyond that.

Akira was glad. The boy was taking up being a hero.

In the end, the only real thing he could get done was training. Which ironically enough, seemed to _worsen_ his personae abilities. Igor's warnings came in full circle, and boy they hit him _hard._ He was able to increase his personae synchronization dramatically, but it was strange...

Every time he summoned a personae to use its full power, it _hurt_. His body strained, like it was being exposed to a foreign chemical. His soul seemed to blatantly oppose it. _Opposing the spirit of rebellion..._ It was a drastically scary feeling for someone who had used said spirit so much in the past.

And he hadn't even tried bringing out Satanael yet. _Although I suppose Satanael isn't really much of a physical fighter, so synchronization with him isn't required. He only really has one thing he can do after all... Blowing a giant hole in something. Definitely not something I wanna try out in Mustafu._

In the end, the persona that strained him the least was none other than Yoshitsune. Which was frankly, quite a relief, seeing as the personae- similar to Arsene- was one he could use in many different situations. What quite annoyed him though, was that Arsene seemingly hurt the _most_ to use.

It made sense, seeing as the persona was the purest manifestation of his rebellion. Now that his soul seemingly opposed that spirit, it would be a logical conclusion that Arsene would be the hardest to use. But it also happened to be his most naturally used Persona, and he missed using it frequently.

It _connected_ to him in a way that none of the other personae did.

To add salt to the wound, Igor hadn't shown up even _once_ after his original dream. He had the velvet key in his room, but he had no idea how to use it when the velvet door was seemingly nonexistent. Igor would probably make up another strange, illusive reason to not see him. Probably something about self-discovery.

Asshole.

Either way, what was done was done, and now he stood at the gates of UA, alone and completely lost on what to do. Well, metaphorically. He knew that he needed to make his way to the auditorium, listen to the opening speech and rules, and ace the practical test.

But his movements felt mechanical. It reminded him of being forced into Shujin for the first time, and meeting the Principal along with Kawakami. He felt... unmotivated? Was that the word? He wasn't quite sure. Being a hero was cool with him, but compared to all of the nervous, jittery, excited kids around him?

Despite being half a year older than most of the kids signing up, he felt awfully young. Immature. Unmotivated and unfocused. It was a drastic difference from what he had felt while sailing through the metaverse. _And there it is again, the old comparison to my old life._

Although he had tried to stop that particular habit, he couldn't stop the thought from popping in his head anyway. His feelings, his surroundings, his bonds, all of them were just so damn _easy_ to compare to what he had felt in Tokyo. It was both nostalgic and utterly frustrating.

Someone tapped him on the back. Akira swung around to see a girl with purple hair and... were those power chords hanging from her ears? _I swear to god, every time I tell myself this world can't get any weirder, I'm jinxing myself._ In retrospect, it wasn't the strangest thing he had seen so far. After all, Nezu quite literally was a talking rat. But still...

He hadn't expected what was essentially a cyborg combination of technology and biology to be the result of a quirk. In fact, if he wasn't seeing the results of said quirk right now, he would have dismissed the existence of it as merely nonsense.

"You gonna move?" asked the girl with a deadpan.

"Sorry," Akira said. "Your quirk looks interesting." The girl fiddled with her earphone chords... _What do you call those? Earphone jacks? Chords?_ "Are you taking the heroics exam?' he asked.

"Yup." said the girl. "You too, I'm guessing?" Akira nodded in response. "Cool. Good luck."

The girl briskly walked past him. Akira chuckled. It was slightly refreshing to see someone so... nonchalant about everything, at least from what he could see. Everyone was way too awfully serious and determined about this. But him? Akira decided right there and then that he would have a bit of fun.

Arsene cried out in malicious triumph.

* * *

The rules to the entrance exam were in retrospect... Pretty simple. Of course, luck and _speed_ would play a big part seeing as potential students would need to try and encounter 3 pointers to gain more points. Akira equipped the familiar persona of Yoshitsune, letting it flood his soul with its power as he walked towards testing ground C. Instantly, he felt a lot stronger and faster, as well as much more well defended.

He also ignored the straining feeling in his joints.

"Oh, you're here as well."

Akira turned back to see the girl form before once again, twirling her earphone jacks. He waved at her. "I never got your name." he said.

"Kyoka Jiro." said the girl. "What's your quirk, by the way? You look like one of those characters that have some hidden card up their sleeve. You know, the ones in the old cartoons?"

Akira laughed. _Oh the irony._ "Just because you said that, I'm gonna keep it a secret. Maybe you'll see me use it in the test, who knows?" he said. In response, Jiro mock-glared at him before shrugging nonchalantly. "Nervous?" Akira asked.

"I guess." replied Jiro. "Being nervous about this and getting jittery isn't really gonna help, so why bother? You seem awfully nonchalant about it all as well. Got a super powerful quirk?"

Before Akira could answer, a whistle loudly blared, signaling the start of the practical exam. The huge gates opened, and as the crowd started to instantly run towards the mini-city, Jiro quickly waved him goodbye, saying "Good luck" with a smirk before she sprinted forwards together with the crowd.

Akira smirked. _Not so fast._ Letting his powers drape over him fully, he used the power of his most physically powerful persona to leap across most of the crowd in a single, powerful stride. It felt... _good_. Despite the strain in his arms and legs, it felt freeing to run free with his persona again.

With superhuman speed, he sprinted towards the nearest 3-pointer before jumping and grabbing its top half, ripping it off in a fluid motion while still in the air. He briefly contemplated keeping track of his points before deciding against it. He would just rip apart as many robots as possible, and maybe give everyone a good show in the process.

As another 3 pointer approached him, he quickly summoned Yoshitsune in person and flung his hand forwards, the personae obeying his every command as it quickly flew forwards and cleaved the robot into 2 halves. Not deciding to waste any time, Akira started to run.

At some point, he lost track of how many robots he had finished off, either by himself or through his persona. He ran into a few people along the way, but had preferred to stay out of their own fights. Akira respected personal strength after all, and he had enough points.

And then, as a deep voice signaled the last minute of the test, a huge shockwave unbalanced him, making him slightly stumble. _What the hell?_ Akira thought as he decided to make his way to a more open area to see what in the world had just happened. It seemed that many people had the same idea as him, judging by the sheer number of people who had gathered in a clearing.

Right then and there, it was painfully obvious what had caused the shockwave. Akira had faced stronger enemies than the thing that stood before him now- at least, he hoped- but he sure as hell had never faced one that was so damn _big._ Except for Yalbaboath. Yalbaboath was always the exception.

The reaction of the crowd was instant. Sooner than he could blink, people were running away as fast as possible, and Akira was of the same mind... for but a brief moment. _What in the world is UA thinking? This thing could kill someone pretty damn easily._

Thankfully though, it seemed that everyone had gotten away safely. _Actually, scratch that though._ Akira cursed as he looked directly in front of him, where a hollow set of clothing items was running away from the robot, though all things considered, she was doing so rather successfully. _Invisibility quick, I'm quessing?_

And then, he widened his eyes as the robot crashed into a nearby building, breaking off a large part of said building and leaving it to hurl downwards towards the... girl. He assumed it was a girl. Though at the moment he couldn't quite tell, seeing as there were some other things that needed attention.

Like the large piece of concrete speeding down at her.

Akira concentrated, recalling his training with personae synchronization. Switching to the persona _Pazuzu_ , he unleashed a sharp Garudyne spell, effectively blowing the piece of debris backwards _and_ upwards, all according to his direction. Akira sighed in relief. For a brief moment, he had been afraid that he would hit the girl instead of the rock. After all, he had never really needed to be accurate with the direction of his spells. A vague direction was usually enough just because shadows just tended to be so damn _big._

He noted it in his mind. _Practice aiming._

He would be more likely to fight people than shadows now after all, if his predictions were correct.

Equipping Yoshitsune again, Akira leaped up and with a single swipe of his arms, summoned his persona forward. It was actually rather easy to destroy the zero pointer. Almost too easy that it felt... Underwhelming. Yoshitsune's swords tore through the frame of the robot, cleaving the thing straight in halves.

He landed on the floor with a practiced roll, a satisfied smirk on his face.

_Take that, you stupid little rat._

* * *

At the end of the entire entrance exam ordeal, Akira had gone home reasonably satisfied. He had secured enough points in both the written and practical exams, and he had destroyed the zero pointer as well. All in all, it was a good ending to a good day of hard work.

And then Nezu had to ruin it by summoning him the next day.

* * *

"Akira!" greeted the principal of UA as Akira stepped into the room. Akira raised an eyebrow and smirked bemusedly. _So now we're on a first name basis, huh? I don't quite recall giving Nezu permission to do that, but I guess he's just awfully... comfortable? Unnerving? Weird? Is he trying to catch me off guard?_

"Take me out to dinner first," Akira said as he plopped down on the couch, his expression turning much more serious. "So, why did you call me here? I don't remember doing anything quite so wrong." He paused for effect. "Or are you finally asking me out on a date?"

He internally gave a few points to Nezu for not scolding him. He still thought the rat was an ass, but at least the thing wasn't all too stuck up. He wasn't a fan of principals who were stuck up after all. Even if trying to fuck around with Nezu was the equivalent of screaming at a brick wall.

That was part of the fun of it, after all.

"I simply wanted to congratulate you, and to give you a few details about the nature of your stay. You placed first in the entrance exam, after all." said Nezu, with a knowing smile that Akira couldn't discern was malicious or harmless. "UA has prepared a dorm room for you, and from the first day onwards, all of its facilities are yours to use. However, I would like to request something of you. We have multiple training facilities across the campus, and every 2 days, we would like you to run a few training exercises with one of our facility members for quirk analysis."

"Wouldn't it just be easier for me to explain anything and everything?" Akira asked. Nezu laughed.

"Well that just wouldn't be very fun, wouldn't it? I haven't had something this fun to work out in quite a while, Mr. Kurusu." said Nezu, before the principal turned much more serious. "That being said, there may be a time where you must tell us the extent of your abilities even if we haven't figured them out yet. You must remember Mr. Kurusu, the students attending UA are a number one priority."

Akira nodded. "That's good," he said, leaving a second message that no one but him would be able to understand from the look he gave Nezu. _You better not act otherwise._

Let it be known that Akira wasn't a fan of manipulative, selfish, corrupted and perverted educators. Especially the last one. Kamoshida and Kobayakawa had effectively ensured that he would never view them as anything but the absolute rotten scum of the Earth, deserving of nothing short of a one way trip to a prison cell.

"I can agree to those terms. Can I go now?" he asked. Nezu nodded, and Akira stood up and walked out of the door, a sour taste in his mouth. _I went all the way to UA for a question that could be asked over text? What the hell, Nezu?_ Sometimes, he felt like the principal was playing just a big chess match with his mental state. Trying to pick it apart like a puzzle by doing the oddest things possible.

He made sure to try and spite him before he left the room.

"Bye Ratatouille~"

Akira cursed himself when he heard the humorous laugh from inside the room. In the end, Akira considered that the two most important things he had gained out of the meeting were that Ratatouille somehow existed in this world too, and that Nezu had seen it. He made a mental note to google the movie when he got home.

And then he realized that the next day would quite literally be the first day of a school he was completely unfamiliar with, and decided to simply go to sleep instead.

The immortal, oh so powerful spirit of his old cat told him so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So to explain a very important thing here, you might feel that the fight scene with the entrance exam feels too short. This is intentional because it is not a very big moment for Akira. There will be more important, longer fight scenes later though, don't worry.
> 
> Also, Jiro is introduced in this chapter! I have lots of fun ideas on where to go with her, but she's going to be a big part of this story regardless of which particular path I take, so watch out for her. Same goes for characters like Kaminari, Hagakure, Mashirao, and Monoma even. I have lots of ideas for Monoma. Such an underused character.
> 
> Akira and Nezu's relationship... that's gonna be a fun one to write for sure. Nezu's a respectable authority figure that has amazing intellect, and Akira is someone that likes screwing around with authority figures. I feel like they would bounce off pretty well.
> 
> Anyways, that's it for now. Thanks for reading, be sure to leave a review!


	4. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> UA starts.

To be completely fair, Akira should have expected the huge door. He had been briefly around UA after all, and had also wondered why the door to Nezu's- a creature that was a meter tall at best- office, but had dismissed it, not thinking much of the question. But the prospect of having such a comically large door as his classroom entrance for the next 3 years was...

Funny. He couldn't deny it. It made him slightly delirious.

After a good 10 seconds of silent giggling (he wondered what the people that passed him by thought of him, but dismissed the thought. It couldn't be worse than what the rumors were at Shujin. He could take being considered an eccentric idiot any day) he finally decided to open the door to his new classroom. _Maybe if the door is this big,_ he thought, _the classroom might be even weirder. Filled with super strange technology? Huge chairs and desks?_

To his surprise, it was... completely normal. There was nothing at all out of the ordinary about the classroom itself, even if the residents of said classroom tickled his bone for weirdness. It was a large square room filled with desks and chairs, almost identical to his homeroom in Shujin. Nothing but the color scheme was really different.

Akira briefly looked at the seating chart displayed on the chalkboard. His seat was number 11, right next to the window. Akira couldn't help but smile at the coincidence. _Exactly the same as my seat in Shujin._ What had Ryuji called it again? The anime protagonist seat?

Akira made his way over to the chair and sat down, deciding to... spectate in the spectacle that was spread out before him. Right now, two students were having a rather heated argument about... Tables and chairs? Akira wasn't quite sure, but the blonde spiky haired boy had a smug looking smirk on his face as the other boy yelled at him, and it gave him a rudimentary idea of what where the argument would lead.

"Get your feet off that desk please! It's extremely disrespectful to the workers who slaved to make it, and the heroes that sat there before! It is unbecoming of a hero to commit such a flagrant act of vandalism!" yelled the blue haired boy, comically karate chopping the air.

"Shut the fuck up, four eyes!" retorted the blonde, the boy finally ditching the smirk and going with a much more... aggravated... expression. "I'll do whatever the fuck I want, you extra!"

The blue haired boy looked like he was about to faint. "It is unbecoming of a future hero to use such vulgar language!" said the boy, his arms chopping the air even faster than before. Akira found it quite funny.

"Holy shit you're pissing me off. Who are you anyway?" asked blondie.

"I am Tenya Iida of Somei Private Academy!" yelled the now-named Iida. _Oh, so that's where I recognize him,_ Akira finally remembered. _He was the one talking about qualities and standards about the rules in the entrance exam, back in the Auditorium._ In hindsight, he should have made the connection quite quickly. _I wonder how he and I will get along._

Akira had never been one for the rules. Iida on the other hand was pretty much... the exact opposite, from what he could tell. He snickered in his desk. _Holy shit, and I thought Makoto was bad._

"Oh, so you're some elite huh! That's just gonna make it even more fun when I pummel you into the ground!" yelled the blonde. Iida, in response, looked absolutely _flabbergasted_ , almost comically so. It almost made it funny that Akira expected he would probably bump heads with the blue haired boy more than just about anyone in the school.

"Yo," a new voice called out. Akira turned his head around to look to his right and smiled as Kyoka Jiro looked back at him. "So you passed the entrance exam, huh?"

"And you as well." he said. "I told you. The practical exams weren't a problem for me, the written ones were." he smirked.

"Better keep up that cockiness while you're here. What's your name, by the way?" asked Jiro.

"I never told you?" he asked. "Akira Kurusu."

In response, the girl did a spit take. Akira raised a single eyebrow in response. "Holy heck, you've got the delinquent character completely nailed down, haven't you? Even your name sounds aggressive."

In the end of that discussion, Akira decided that he needed glasses again. _With glasses I'm a NEET, and without them I'm a delinquent. Sunglasses, maybe?_ No, that would make him look even more like some schoolyard bully. Akira smacked his head.

No matter what, it seemed like he was always horrible at first impressions.

"Dont worry," Jiro said. "All that means is that you've got a strong character."

"Is that meant to be an insult?" he retorted. Jiro smirked.

"Congratulations on getting into UA."

He solemnly decided there and then that if the phantom thieves were ever to follow him to this world, he would never let this girl meet Futaba.

And then, the door opened once more, with a very familiar face standing behind it. Akira smiled widely. _The kid did it, huh? He actually made it into UA!_ He felt oddly proud of the green haired boy despite well... Not having held a single conversation with it. _I guess my gut was right._ He made eye contact with the boy... Midoriya? _Was it that?_

In response, Midoriya greeted him with a smile and stepped towards his direction, presumably to greet himself... Until a familiar blonde boy stepped right in between, bloody murder in his eyes. Akira immediately tensed up, the classroom becoming much more... intense

"Deku." said the blonde.

"Kachaan." responded Midoriya. Akira would have snickered if the tension in the air wasn't so high. _Kachaan? Makes him sound like a ball of sunshine instead of... that. Should I think of him as a much more angry Ryuji?_ He hadn't dealt with anyone in Tokyo that _quite_ went up blondie's lane. _Correction._ He hadn't dealt with anyone who was even semi-close to blondie's lane.

Looking sideways, he could tell that both Jiro and a boy with electric yellow hair weren't as lucky as him. blondie swung his body around as soon as the tiny snickers were heard, and for a brief moment, Akira briefly genuinely considered using his quirk. _These are the type of people they let in this course?_ He wasn't quite sure what to think about that.

Akira immediately slapped himself. _Isn't this pretty much what happened to me in Tokyo though? Well, no. Obviously not. But have I turned into the opposite crowd now?_ Akira wasn't sure what was the answer to that question. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer either. _Sure, he's probably gonna get a bad rep later on because of his actual personality and not some falsified records... But what if-_

Just as the blonde boy, _Kachaan_ , prepared to jump, a new voice interrupted, cutting through the atmosphere and shattering his chain of thought.

"If you're here to screw around, you might as well leave." said a voice Akira recognized all too well. _Seriously? That guy's the-_

Akira couldn't stop the laughter from bubbling out this time.

In his defense, it was _hard_ not to laugh at the sight of a pro hero ( _and_ his homeroom teacher for that matter) looking like a human caterpillar, laying down sideways in a yellow sleeping bag. _How in the world did he even get here?_ Akira thought. He then instantly decided that he didn't want to know the answer.

Knowing his experiences with his life so far, it would be weird as hell.

However, unfortunately for him, Shota Aizawa was not so amused. The man glared at Akira before shoving his hands down his bag and pulling out a pair of blue and white uniforms, all but completely ignoring Akira's previous disturbance of the silence.

"Go somewhere else if you wanna screw around like this. This is the hero course." said Aizawa as he slipped out of the beanbag with practiced ease. "My name is Shota Aizawa, I'm your homeroom teacher. Nice to meet you."

"I- Is he ok?" muttered a girl, presumably the invisible one. The answer to her question, Akira wasn't quite sure. As far as he knew, this was Aizawa's constant state. Was Aizawa's constant state something to be worried about however was a whole other question altogether. _Another question I would rather not find the answer to._

Suddenly, Aizawa reached into the bag and pulled out a package of blue uniforms with red and white stripes, holding them out to the class. "Put these on and meet me on the field." he said as he put the uniforms on the ground and crawled back into his sleeping bag with inhumane finesse.

Akira sighed. This year as gonna be something else, wasn't it?

* * *

Akira had been one of the first ones to change into uniform. When he had exited the locker room and arrived at the field, there was only Aizawa, a fit looking boy with white and red hair split down the middle, and another boy- this time blonde, and not the angry blondie's blonde- with a tail. Akira supposed it wasn't the oddest of quirks.

He walked up to the group and introduced himself with a simple, "Hi" and a wave. In response, the tailed boy smiled and did a light bow, while the red and white haired one simple nodded his head in acknowledgement. Aizawa just looked at him with a strange expression on his face.

"I can make you some coffee later if you want, sensei." he decided to blurt out. He wondered how his homeroom teacher would react. _Though judging by what little I've seen, I'm probably pushing it just with a simple comment like this._ He could only hope that the teacher wasn't like... well frankly, most of the teachers at Shujin. Kawakami had probably been the best one.

Her maid career notwithstanding, of course.

Aizawa merely shrugged. "Sure." said the older man. Akira smiled, flashing back to a conversation with Nezu. "We value and trust the teachers at UA more than anything," the principal had said. "UA is famous for letting the teachers gain lots of freedom over how they run things. I am rather proud of that part myself."

If he was gonna be honest, for a brief moment, Nezu had almost looked a bit smug.

One by one, the rest of the students crowded in. Invisible girl, Midoriya, and lots of other people he didn't recognize came into the field quickly, prompting Aizawa to start... whatever he had planned. Though Akira had an idea what the man wanted to do, and he suspected everyone else did as well.

"You took 7 minutes to do that. That's too late. Be more efficient with your time," said Aizawa. "We're here to do a quirk assessment test."

That dropped the bomb on the class.

Instantly, most- if not all- of the kids yelled something akin to, "A quirk assessment test!?" before sinking into further and further noise. One of the girls, with brown hair and a bob cut- he distinctly remembered her entering with Midoriya earlier- yelled, "What about the orientation? The entrance ceremony?"

Nezu's words dropped on him like rocks.

"You're in the Hero Course. You don't have time for luxuries like that." said Aizawa, effectively silencing the class despite how quiet his voice was. "One of the reasons why UA is so popular is due to it's teaching philosophies. Teachers get much less restrictions in how to run their classes. You signed up for this."

Nobody could make a retort to that.

Aizawa pulled out a strange device from his pocket and tapped a few buttons on it, and suddenly, multiple courses and items rose from the ground onto the field. A javelin throw, a hurdle, an obstacle course, it was all of the standard outdoor fitness exercises Akira remembered from his elementary, middle and high school. "You guys have done this before, right?" said Aizawa. The class nodded in response. "Tests like these, but without using your quirks..."

For a brief moment, Aizawa sighed and looked like he was about to say something, but the man stopped himself from saying anything loudly, instead muttering something akin to, "Irrational."

"Anyway," the teacher continued, "you're going to do that again, except this time, you'll be using your quirks." Aizawa pointed at him. "Kurusu, you were first in the practical exam, right?" the teacher asked pointedly. Through the corner of his eye, Akira _felt_ blondie's eyes widening briefly before his face morphed into one of rage.

Akira wasn't sure if he was gonna get attacked by the boy or not. First in the practical exam or not, Blondie needed to take a freaking break. Though from what, Akira wasn't quite sure himself. Akira also simultaneously saw Midoriya and Iida widen their eyes, though he didn't sense any malice from them.

Jiro just looked at him pointedly before giving him a nonchalant thumbs up and shrugging. Akira rolled his eyes. _This is not how I wanted the first day to go._ So much for staying out of too much attention, he supposed.

"Yeah." he admitted. Aizawa continued.

"What was your score for this test the last time you took it?" asked the teacher. Akira briefly ruffled the back of his hair, trying to reach back into his memories. _Actually_ , he thought, _Shujin never did this test. So the last time I took it would be when I went to my old school, and my score then was..._

"50 meters." he finally said.

"Now get on here and try it with your quirk." said Aizawa, pointing at the white circle on the ground beside him. "You're free to do whatever you can to get the ball as far as possible, just don't leave the circle." Akira walked up to the zone where he would take the test, and found a small baseball waiting for him.

"Don't hold back." Aizawa warned. Akira nodded, picking up the ball and contemplating what he would do.

In terms of brute force, he could easily summon Satanael or Yoshitsune to do the job for him. Though said options would most likely _break_ the baseball instead of launching it. _Actually, I could just..._

Akira internally smacked his forehead. Briefly reaching inside his sea of souls, he switched his persona from his now usual Yoshitsune to _Baal_ , one of his... rather lesser used ones, if he was gonna be completely honest. But Baal had the spell perfect for this exercise, and while Akira didn't consider him too much of a showoff...

It was sort of the time and place to show off now, wasn't it? _Right. No more phantom thieving, more going hero time._

Igor wanted him to be rehabilitated, and that would mean he would need to change his attitude and adapt to his new surroundings. It was time to stop clutching to the ideas of his past.

Feeling the familiar weight of the white mask etched upon his face, Akira grasped the baseball with his arm, briefly settling into a throwing position. Grinning, he threw his arm backwards, but kept his other hand on the white mask. Before flinging his arm back forward and letting go of the ball, Akira unleashed the most powerful wind spell in his arsenal, tearing off the mask with practiced ease.

"Panta Rhei!"

As he expected, the spell briefly created a huge gust of wind that looked somewhat similar to a small cyclone, even unbalancing a few of the students behind him. The ball however, took the full brunt of the impact and _flew_ forward into the distance without showing a single sign of slowing down.

When the ordeal was over, Akira couldn't help but grin. For all of his chuuni woes, what he had previously dubbed as "Phantom Thieving" always carried a familiar feeling of exhilaration. Using spells, summoning personae, letting loose of his true spirit was oddly yet completely naturally liberating.

"Know your own limits." said Aizawa as he held out the results of the test. The ball had traveled a thousand two hundred meters. Akira grinned at the result. "That is the best way you can break through those limits and become the best hero you possibly can."

"What the hell!? Over a kilometer?"

"Impressive. UA's course and education truly is eccentric."

"We can use our quirks all we want? This looks awesome!"

Akira caught a deadly glint in Aizawa's eye, foreshadowing the doom that was about to come. _Still, those last words are something to think about for sure... Is it even possible for me to generate a wind spell beyond Panta Rhei though? How do I break past my limits now? What even are my limits, for that matter?_

"It looks fun... huh?" said Aizawa with the slightest of sadistic grins that Akira predicted he would be seeing quite often. "All of you have exactly three years to become a hero before you're released to the real world... Is that going to be your attitude all throughout? The world out there isn't forgiving, you know."

Aizawa's smile grew.

"All right. Let's simulate that starting today. The person who scores last in these eight tests will be permanently suspended from UA."

The class roared in outrage, and Akira narrowed his eyes. _What about people like invisible girl though? Or Jiro? I can't see their quirks helping them at all with things like throwing a ball or sprinting and hurdling. This is a physical examination biased towards people with physical quirks._

Was this fair? For a brief moment, Akira caught another girl- a black haired one- who's face was scrunched up in thought, and deducted that she had the same suspicions. _This test reeks of bullshit. I thought Aizawa was pretty smart and clever as far as things go, but he seems..._

Enthusiastic. He seemed enthusiastic about expelling a student. Immediately he flashed backwards to Nezu's odd piece of dialogue about being proud of his way of running the teachers in the hero course. _Proud my ass_ , Akira thought. _Is this seriously the course that Nezu's so proud of?_

He couldn't figure anything out to save his life. _The rat's much smarter than I am, that's for sure. But-_

He couldn't see the ruse. The answer. The reasoning. _Is... Aizawa really trying to simulate how physical and flashy quirks are more favored by the public? How non physical quirks are gonna have a much harder time succeeding? I guess that would go along with what he said, but how would it have to relate with testing limits?_

Akira wiped the thoughts from his head. The more he thought about the strange teacher, the more deeper and deeper into making nutjob conspiracies he got. Once again, he trained his focus on Aizawa, the man sporting a knowing expression that infuriated him more than anything. It made him annoyed. Frustrated.

But then- a voice echoed out in his head. A voice he hadn't heard ever since Igor had appeared. Akira had to keep himself from gasping at the sudden intrusion, but as soon as the voice echoed inside his head, he knew why it had arrived.

 _ **"You now observe a rigged game, trickster."**_ cried the ghostly voice of Arsene Lupin, and Akira couldn't find it in himself to disagree.

* * *

For Akira, the tests were relatively easy. After a year of running around in the metaverse and constantly risking his life, his physical attributes- especially when enhanced by a physical persona- was no pushover at all. Even when he had decided to under perform to spare his joints some pain, he scored higher than the vast majority of the students in the test.

Which is why his concern was not for himself, but for Midoriya. The boy's expression had gone from one of fierce determination to one of complete despair. Akira silently felt his own limbs slightly shaking from the tension. Gazing at Aizawa, he bit his lip. _He's not gonna really expel this kid, is he? He can't just-_

Akira bit in further.

In the end, it all depended on Midoriya. He had believed in Ryuji, Ann, Makoto, and everybody else. He would now believe in Midoriya, just like he would believe in the strength of everybody in the class. He would need to, after all. They were future hero prospects. The odds would constantly be stacked against them.

_Ping._

Akira briefly considered giving the boy another _Tarukaja_ boost before ultimately deciding against it. As much as he hated to admit it, Aizawa _did_ have somewhat of a point to this, despite the entire expelling gig. Despite the fact that Akira considered Midoriya a hero at heart, the boy _had_ under performed.

The leader of the phantom thieves grimaced. _Cmon, show us something..._

"Fourty three meters."

Akira wanted to slap his face. Silently, he cursed. _Dammit._

Midoriya had an astonished look on his face. Blondie laughed. Uraraka- he made a mental note to greet her later- yelled, "Come on, Deku-kun! Use your quirk!"

"I turned off your quirk." said Aizawa. Akira briefly stopped, taking in a breath. _Ah_. The puzzle pieces started to click in. The expressions at the coffee shop when he had talked about his quirk. The confusion that was in the man's eyes. Midoriya seemed to have a similar reaction, except his was much more... verbose.

"I know you! You're the pro-hero Eraserhead!" yelled Midoriya. Aizawa scoffed.

"Yeah." the man said non-nonchalantly in a way that was so utterly _him_ of him that it was slightly funny. Aizawa continued, "Every time you use your powers you break your arm, rendering yourself immobile. That makes you nothing but dead weight to your teammates. You're a liability. With a quirk like yours, you can't be a hero."

Ouch.

"Now I've returned your quirk. Do your test quickly so I can give you the results." said Aizawa, tossing the ball back to Midoriya. Akira shuddered. He couldn't deny what Aizawa had said, having run for his life multiple times before. _A quirk that breaks his arm though? Strange..._

For a brief moment, Midoriya simply stood in the ring, as if thinking of something. Akira stared at the boy who had gone rushing into the fray to save someone so long ago. If someone like that couldn't be a hero, who could? Immediately, Akira decided that he didn't want to know the answer.

It seemed like he didn't want to know the answer to lots of things in this world.

_Ping._

Midoriya finally got into a throwing position. Akira watched as the boy took a deep breath, cocked his arm backwards, and...

...and _threw._

Akira gaped. _Holy shit._ He couldn't deny it. Midoriya needed to break his arms, but _damn_ that was a lot of power. The ball had gone soaring into the sky, leaving behind a gust of wind- similar to what had happened with the Phanta Rei spell. Akira had been so caught off by the ball that he had forgotten to look at the thrower.

To his glee, Midoriya was holding his arm in place, only a single finger twitching and swollen with pain. Akira grinned. _I have to admit, I didn't even think of that. Focusing his energy down to a single finger... that's actually kind of ingenious._

Thankfully, Aizawa seemed to share his mirth as well. Almost in a terrifyingly scary way, the man was grinning. For some reason, Akira found himself wanting to cheer. The trickster's spirit soared. Midoriya had been stacked with odds that were completely against his favor, but had managed to come on top.

It almost made him nostalgic.

As Aizawa finally revealed the score of seven hundred meters, Akira felt his grin widen.

But of course, what would a victory be without a couple explosions at the end?

Akira barely had time to react to Blondie as the boy used his explosions to _launch_ himself towards Midoriya, arms outstretched and palms glowing. As soon as the situation had registered in his head, Akira widened his eyes and reacted with his own spell.

"Garu!" he yelled. It was the weakest wind spell, but he didn't need to hurt blondie, just alter his direction. A normal Garu spell was still much stronger than the average gust of wind after all. Thankfully, the spell hit true, and Blondie's explosion hit nothing but the empty floor. When the boy rose up again, Akira _felt_ the anger radiating off of him. While this time it wasn't at Midoriya, it was still intimidating as hell.

_Is this seriously the type of person who becomes a hero?_

All of the Phantom Thieves had personality quirks and flaws of their own to match their strengths. Ryuji could be a bit clueless sometimes, Yusuke was an eccentric and the very definition of "the struggling artist," Makoto carried a bit _too_ much of a "no nonsense" attitude, and Futaba was a lock-in introvert. Despite that, all of them were fundamentally selfless and courageous people. Akira knew that by heart, having adventured to what was quite literally the depths of hell with his team. They were people who had always had the capacity to do heroic things.

He couldn't see any of that in Blondie. He had to admit- the boy's quirk was impressive, but that didn't excuse how much of a routine asshat he was being.

Akira readied himself in his usual combat stance as blondie rose upwards, the boy's hands glowing with what would be a large explosion. In the blink of an eye, a shockwave unbalanced the students on the field, and Blondie sailed through the air, bloody murder in his eyes. Akira readied another _Garu_ spell as the boy's hands flung forwards, and then-

-stopped.

"Don't make me use my quirk. It gives me dry eye." said Aizawa, the teacher somehow supplementing an eye drop from thin air. Akira gaped at the pro-hero. _Seriously? That's what you have to say about this?_ In retrospect, it was actually very... _him_ of him to say that.

Still, Akira couldn't help but feel off.

"Using quirks to attack other students here is forbidden. Don't do that again Bakugo, or you'll have another thing coming to you. Same with you Kurusu." said Aizawa. Akira flashed with anger. _I'm being caught up in this? I was trying to defend another student, not attack-_

He sighed.

Somehow, this felt quite nostalgic. _I guess Aizawa is in the right here. It is technically against the rules..._

Akira slapped the thought out of him. If someone was going to be punished for trying to defend another student, then that was a bullshit rule. Rules could go and suck his arse, he would never stop himself from using his powers in a situation like this. He had decided that the moment he had formed a contract with Arsene for the first time.

In the end, he had scored fourth on the test, right below Todoroki Shoto, Bakugo Katsuki, and Yaoyorozu Momo. He assumed Bakugo was the blondie that had tried to attack. _Thank god, I was getting tired of just calling him Blondie._

Midoriya... Midoriya had come in last. Akira grimaced.

"This test wasn't just about getting a high score, by the way. You were also accessed on how much creativity you had in how you used your quirks." said Aizawa, before the man settled into a grin. "Oh yeah. The part about the expulsion was a lie. It was a logical ruse to draw out the best of your abilities."

_Oh._

Somehow, even when Akira felt like he was starting to get a better and better idea of who exactly Aizawa was, the man managed to surprise him. Perhaps it was because his very personality was a bit unpredictable.

"I thought it was obvious." said the now named Yaoyorozu, who Akira recognized as the girl who looked deep in thought about the initial announcement about the expulsion. "He wouldn't just expel people from the hero course. The entrance exam already shows that people deserve to be here, no?"

He couldn't quite tell if the girl was socially inept or just condescending. He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and settled on the former. Sighing in relief, he cast a brief glance at Midoriya, who looked like Christmas had come early. Which was- to be fair- the completely expected reaction of him.

Akira ended that day on a decently happy note.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do yall want a romance? I'm asking this because my initial plan was to include one, and now I'm slightly questioning my choices. If you do pick yes, you get the romance aspect of the story more fleshed out. If you pick no, things will remain mostly platonic, with maybe a couple hints thrown out there.
> 
> Other than that, thanks for reading again. Make sure to leave a review with your thoughts on the chapter.
> 
> Finally, if I haven't mentioned this before, this story IS divergent from canon. We'll get there someday, but not now. And yes, Akira feels slightly off/OOC for a reason. He FEELS like he's a spectator to all of these plot arcs because of his otherworldly status and his reluctance to let go. Once the story starts to diverge from canon, things will change.


	5. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit happens. Todoroki happens.

Akira was going to be completely honest. He was _extremely lucky_ that UA had classes like English and Math on top of the hero work. Though to be fair, that made complete sense. From what he knew of Heroism in this world, it wasn't _just_ a job. It was a _massively profitable_ industry. Not just through the government funding involved, but because of public popularity. Many top heroes would often work in other jobs while they weren't patrolling.

That particular fact had brought up all sorts of questions in Akira's head. Something felt oddly _wrong_ about having Heroes considering personal profit a large priority. Maybe it was because Akira himself had never gotten the leisure to ensure such a thing. (Although he _did_ earn considerable profits from his Phantom Thieving)

It was just another example of how the status quo was different in here compared to Tokyo. Though this particular change was something Akira wasn't sure of his opinions on.

Either way, because subjects like Math and English were taught in UA as well, he could ease through at least half of the school's workload with ease. (Considering the fact that he _had_ already done most of it once before, at least conceptually) Though the _other_ half was something that bothered him quite a bit.

For example, his current rather tricky predicament.

Akira cursed as he sidestepped the wave of ice speeding towards him, instantly regretting that he hadn't picked an Ice-immune persona as one of his final 12. While he still had _Goemon_ , it was rather painfully obvious that the persona wasn't going to cut it with his current opponent, especially in his current state of power.

Todoroki suddenly closed the distance between them, a fist raised in a punching position. Akira made the split second decision immediately, switching to _Yoshitsune_ as the punch landed. Although Yoshitsune had lost the ability to repel anything ever since he had somehow _lost his way_ , the Physical persona still made his skin about as hard as solid stone.

Akira felt a wave of frost encapsulate his body as the fist hit him, briefly recoiling from the shock. _How in the world does that work? All he did was punch me! Science isn't supposed to work that way!_ Although to be fair, he had seen stranger things happen through quirks.

As expected though, Todoroki clutched his fist in pain, the boy's teeth clenched. The reaction was brief, almost unnoticable before the Ice Quirk user hid his expression once more. _Not showing any weakness. I have to say, that's pretty impressive coming from someone his age._

Unfortunately, it was time to end this now.

Adjusting his gloves, Akira flung off his mask dramatically, instantly feeling the rejuvenation of _Power Charge_ take its effect. He felt stronger. Faster. More energized. It drained his pools of energy like a bitch, but it definitely had its uses. Akira had made a mistake of severely underestimating his opponent. It was time to remedy that.

He personally took great pleasure in seeing the shock in Todoroki's eyes as he flung himself towards the bomb in the blink of an eye. Though the white and red haired boy did re-adjust himself instantly. _Damn,_ Akira thought. He had underestimated some of these students, and quite badly as well.

But unfortunately for Todoroki, that didn't change the fact that Akira was still on a level of his own. A year's worth of life or death fighting did that to you.

Expecting the two waves of ice Todoroki sent towards him, Akira quickly switched his persona to _Surt_ , quickly casting two _agilao_ spells in quick succession. The two opposing elements met in the middle of the building, shattering Todoroki's ice throughout. Akira cringed as he felt one scratch his cheek.

_The bomb._

Akira turned back. It so happened that the bomb was right next to him. He had completely forgotten about it during the fight, but it had actually been the key to winning the battle. _Oh well, that's that I guess._

He raised his hand and touched the shell. The whistle blew, and the battle was over.

* * *

**Previously**

* * *

Akira grimaced as he got off the bus and made his way towards UA high school. He felt much better compared to how he had felt as he was leaving the school the day before. Still, he hesitated. Slowed down his walk. UA had certainly left its impression on him starting from day 1. And now...

Now he would be moving in here as well.

Lifting up his wrist, he quickly checked the time. _Good_ , he thought. He had made it right on time, approximately an hour before school. Akira had made it a point to be punctual after a year of suffering through Shujin's harsh policy on being tardy. He could only hope that Aizawa would go easy on him in comparison, though he somehow managed to settle to the conclusion that the man would _not_ , despite only having properly known him as a teacher for a day.

Heights Alliance. That was the name of the dormitory he was going to be moving into. It was a building UA occasionally refurbished and used in the occurrence that a student would live too far away from the school, or specifically requested it. Akira was a special case, apparently.

He still had no idea _why_ though.

As he approached the campus gates, he saw Aizawa waiting for him. Akira waved nonchalantly and the man gave a kurt nod in greeting before yawning predictably. Akira's lips quirked upwards. Maybe it was all the spandex, but now that he thought of it, this world did feel awfully similar to some cartoon.

"You've interrupted my sleep for this, kid." the man stated, the dark circles under his eyes looking ever more prominent. Akira waved his hands in the air, grinning.

"Good morning as well, sensei." he said. The man didn't respond, simply walking the other way. Presumably- no, probably towards Heights Alliance. Akira huffed before following him, pouting the entire way. Still, they made the way with good time. Akira was finally beginning to understand just how absurdly _big_ UA's campus was. _They can really fit multiple mock cities in here huh..._

Compared to the heroic grandeur of most of the school, Heights Alliance looked... perfectly normal. A little preppy, but a normal school dorm room. Honestly, Akira was surprised. Although he wasn't aware of any details, he had expected something that looked much less... traditional.

He decided it was a good thing in the end. He had gotten enough hero worship from his schooltime, there was no need to add it to his private time as well. Although to be fair, it wasn't like he was going to spend much time in Heights Alliance anyway. He had a cafe to run, after all.

"Alright. Go and unpack. I'm going back to sleep." said Aizawa. Akira nodded, and Aizawa walked back to the campus. After waving to his teacher, Akira looked at the dormitory room once more, and his lips quirked upwards. Everything considered, the thing wasn't half bad.

Not bad at all, actually. He would be rather bored in such a large space, but it wasn't exactly like he was going to have an extremely free schedule anyway. The real meat of his day would always be during school hours, and he was... surprisingly fine with that.

Not wanting to enter the metaverse. Maybe that was a good sign.

Though looking back at it, he was still waiting for Igor to contact him again...

Rubbing his chin in thought, Akira swung his arm over to his suitcase and rolled it towards his new home for likely the next 3 years, wondering how he would spend his next hour. It wasn't like he had too much to unpack, after all. Maybe he would indulge himself in some coffee.

Yeah. That didn't sound too bad at all.

* * *

"Yo," called a voice. Akira raised his head to the sight of electric blonde hair, signaling class 1A's first arrival for the day, (except him of course) Denki Kaminari. Seconds later, Kyoka Jiro bustled through the doorway as well, her pose as nonchalant as ever.

"Hi," Akira started. "You're early."

"Yup." said Kaminari, popping the _p_. "Gotta be early and ready for the next day, you know?" said the boy with a smile. In response, Jiro simply raised a thumb to the blonde and poked him.

"What he means is that he set his alarm clock an hour early on accident." said the girl. Akira stifled a snort. The other boy was less amused.

"It's not like you're the peak of organization either!" retorted the boy. Jiro merely looked thoughtful for a moment before settling down on her usual poker face.

"You're right."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm not too great at that stuff either. I'm still loads above you though."

"You barely-"

Akira spaced out of the conversation, his lips quirking upwards. His classmates were certainly characters. It almost felt like he was living in some manga. Midoriya was the kind hearted underdog, Jiro was the edgy punk rocker, and Bakugo... Akira's eyes widened, and he had to keep himself from choking on the laugh that followed.

The single question in his mind remained: Was Katsuki Bakugo a tsundere?

He was going to find out somehow. Akira swore it. Although to be fair, asking the kid directly would most likely result in a fair amount of property damage. How else would he find out? Midoriya, maybe? Akira grinned, the gears in his brain turning rapidly as the class started to fill with people.

"Your first class of the day will be..."

* * *

Math class, english class, history class. Akira was impressed. For a while, he had imagined UA as a type of Hogwarts, teaching nothing but just heroics. Thankfully, it looked like the kids here were getting educations in other subjects, and _good_ educations in these other subjects. He had to admit, the course curriculum wasn't anything to scoff at.

And he was someone who had topped his year once.

Twirling his pen around in his hand, he quickly jotted down the answer to the math problem. So far, things were so good. He would even go as far as saying he was currently enjoying himself. It was refreshing to study topics with a certain level of experience. It was relaxing in a sense.

He grinned. This wasn't so bad. This wasn't bad at all.

* * *

This was bad. This was _very_ bad.

Akira looked at his costume in horror. Or rather, his non-costume. Considering he had pretty much free control over what his costume would look like it and do it was rather easy to pick out just exactly he wanted. And that- of course, was absolutely nothing at all.

His phantom thief suit provided more than enough defense. So in the end, all he ordered was a simple knife and a pistol. What he was seeing in his box right now though was much more different. The silver dagger he had ordered was now closer in length to a rapier, there were somehow _two_ of them and the pistol looked like a water gun. Picking up the firearm (?) he looked at it more closely, seeing strange buttons and switches, presumably adding some added functionality. Somehow, it made him smile. He certainly could appreciate the effort.

Even if it did look like a baby's toy.

The dagger-sword things were rather simple, thankfully. One was blunt, one was sharpened. Both of them lacked the swishiness of his dagger, but he would make do.

Finally, there was what looked like a bootleg costume. A pair of tight white underpants and a red cape. Both had smiley faces drawn over them. Akira's lips quirked up in amusement. He would have to see whoever ended up making the final design for this. Both to confront them about the lack of... reliability, and the... character. That was a good way to describe it. Character.

Activating his abilities and feeling his phantom thief uniform drape over his body, Akira quickly grabbed the blunt sword and the water gun, pocketing the latter and sheathing the former, and quickly ran outside. Considering that the changing room was almost empty, he was probably running somewhat late this time around.

"You look like a villain." a voice immediately interrupted. Akira stopped and turned backwards to the sight of Kyoka Jiro walking nonchalantly towards him, wearing what looked pretty much like a civilian outfit. She gave him a thumbs up.

Somehow, that hurt his integrity. He was a vigilante, after all. Considering Mona had previously said that his costume was supposed to be the manifestation of what he thought as rebellious heroism, the comparison was strangely offensive. _Truly a strike to my ego._

His pride slightly damaged, he slowed his pace as he walked to where everyone was supposed to be gathering. "It isn't like punk rock is all that heroic anyways..." he muttered.

"I can hear that you know."

Akira choked. _Quirks are the worst sometimes,_ he thought, silently noting to himself never to talk behind people's backs again in this world. The terrors of the high school rumor mill... Thankfully, the girl seemed more amused than offended. "Seriously though, you might wanna get rid of the mask. It scares off all the kids."

"I can't exactly get _rid_ of it. The mask is part of my quirk, you know." he retorted.

"Uh huh."

"I have to rip off the mask for any of my stronger powers to work."

"You sure it isn't just a phase?" asked the girl, grinning now.

"Oi! You're the one with a punk rock outfit here."

Jiro winked at him. Somehow, Akira got the feeling that the argument was lost. _So that's how it's gonna be, huh?_

Akira flexed his arms and straightened his sleeves. He wasn't sure _how_ exactly he had lost a battle, but his gut told him that he did. Somehow, that was a _particularly_ large blow to his pride. _Great_ , he thought. Considering he was alone in a dorm room now, he was probably gonna spend an obnoxious amount of time contemplating this exact conversation.

Self awareness was truly strange.

* * *

Akira tapped his foot on the ground multiple times. Heroism class. Heroism class was a class he had been simultaneously looking forward to and dreading. On one hand, he was sure he could perform well in combat exercises. On the other hand though, if it was an actual history lesson on heroism, he would be pretty much screwed on all fronts. Thankfully, it seemed to be the former.

If the fact that he needed to wear his costume didn't confirm that particular fact, his doubts had been pretty much all cleared the moment All Might had burst into the room with a slightly comical looking hero costume. Midoriya instantly looked like he was about to faint, a sight that was extremely funny to watch.

It reminded him of how people would fangirl over Akechi back in tokyo. Akira frowned, the detective's name leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. How could it not, after all? Akechi was one person Akira still couldn't figure out _what_ to think of. He was the exception in a world where people had a tendency to be blatantly and miserably cruel.

_Shit._

Akira had tuned out for just a second. He refocused his attention back to what All Might was saying. "You will be put up into pairs and then put in a simulated city. There, the hero team will attempt to defuse the bomb by touching it, while the villain team will try and stop the hero team. Think of it as treasure hunting in a way. Heroes, the bomb is your treasure and the villains are the obstacles that stand in the way of it. The villain team on the other hand, must guard the treasure until time runs out. Either team can also win by simply eliminating the other team. Is that clear?"

A round of "Yes sir!" echoed around the room.

Akira had to keep himself from smiling. _Treasure hunting? I think I can get behind that._ It was almost comical how closely All Might had just described the simulation with a freaking palace heist. He supposed it would be fairly interesting to play the defenders team this time around, although he would probably excell more at attacking...

"I will draw the teams now!" said All Might. As the man drew the names, the teams appeared on a nearby screen.

**Group 1: Kaminari and Hagakure (Heroes) vs Yaoyorozu and Asui (Villains)**

**Group 2: Kurusu and Tokoyami (Heroes) vs Todoroki and Kirishima (Villains)**

**Group 3: Midoriya and Uraraka (Heroes) vs Iida and Bakugo (Villains)**

**Group 4: Ashido and Sato (Heroes) vs Jiro and Ojiro (Villains)**

**Group 5: Sero and Shoji (Heroes) vs Mineta and Aoyama (Villains)**

Akira looked at his own name listing and sighed. Shoto Todoroki... He was someone that had distinguished himself as one of the strongest in the class from day 1, and considering the stoic but _challenging_ look the boy was showing him now, the ice quirk user wouldn't go easy on him at all.

_Shit._

* * *

_"The winners of the first battle are the Villains! Group 2, get ready and enter the stadium!" yelled All Might._

* * *

Akira grimaced. This entire gig was starting to become phenomenally frustrating. He felt nervous, scared, and most of all _hesitant_ and for the love of god he couldn't figure out why. He _shouldn't_ be afraid of facing Todoroki, all things considered. And frankly, he was quite sure he _wasn't._ But he was dreading the encounter that was about to happen.

It wasn't the same type of fear as infiltrating a palace either. It was just irrational, useless hesitation that he still couldn't figure out. The same hesitation that had gripped him since he had signed up to attend and stay at UA. _Maybe it's just me getting adjusted to things._

Except he had gotten adjusted to things before. He _knew_ the feeling of adjusting to new scenarios. What he was feeling now was different. Much more unrooted. Much more... introspective, if that made any sense whatsoever. Akira pushed his thoughts out of his head as he spotted Tokoyami walking up to him. _Alright, it's time to get real. No more teenage angst._

"We need a plan." was the first thing Tokoyami said. Akira quickly nodded in agreement. While he was fairly sure he was fully sufficient in winning against Todoroki, it would be extremely foolish to go in without a plan. He didn't know the extent of everyone's abilities yet.

"I can take care of Todoroki." Akira quickly said. "Kirishima uses a hardening quirk, right? I specialize in speed, so I can get past him fairly quickly. Your quirk can also strike from long distances, making you a perfect fit to hold off Kirishima. While you do that, I can go after the bomb"

"First of all, while I doubt it, there may be a chance that Kirishima may be stronger than Dark Shadow. And are you sure you can handle Todoroki? While your abilities are impressive, his cannot be underestimated either." retorted Tokoyami.

"I'm like 60% sure." Akira said, grinning.

"Ah, oh well. I do not see any better alternatives. Though I encourage you to watch out for the villain team's own plans. After all, they may pull some unexpected tricks on us." said Tokoyami. Akira nodded in agreement. Although he couldn't see Todoroki or Kirishima having quirks that could create things like traps or obstacles...

Before he could think more on the topic, the bell rung. The battle had begun. Akira shared one glance with Tokoyami before the two rushed into the building's first floor, quickly speeding through. Akira noticed that even the first floor hallway was cold. _Very_ cold. It screamed Todoroki all over. _Could he be doing..._

His suspicions were confirmed when the fourth floor was reached. As he had suspected, the entire fucking floor was covered with Ice. Akira did a spit take. He knew the twin haired boy's powers were good, but _hot damn._ Akira wasted no time in casting a _maragi_ on the floor, melting a large portion of the ice away.

Unfortunately, the ice was... _thick._

Akira hadn't noticed that. That was his first mistake.

"Wait!" yelled Tokoyami, but the fire had already struck the surface of the ice, effectively melting a large portion of it and turning it into water. Akira's boots landed in warm water, about ankle deep and slightly off balance. _What the hell?_ What in the world was the point of that? That would only require more ice, and it would...

The water froze.

_Shit._

Akira suddenly regretted saying Todoroki wouldn't give them obstacles. Oh he had been so sorely wrong.

Before he could blink, the water around his feet had frozen, effectively immobilizing him, and had reached up to his legs. Akira's eyes widened as the ice finally reached his torso, his mind panicking. _He's being strategic with his quirk... this certainly isn't a scenario I pictured myself being in._

In a last ditch effort, Akira shifted his persona to _Goemon_ as the wave of ice finally reached his face, effectively immobilizing him. For a second, Akira almost thought that he had lost the match. At least, until his arm _moved_. _Thank god_ , he thought. The movement wasn't as easy as usual, but his persona could counter a fairly thin layer of ice with a fair amount of efficiency. Akira immediately broke out of the ice trap, quickly slapping Tokoyami afterwards and watching the bird quirk user's icy prison shatter like glass.

"That was a mistake." Akira said. Tokoyami nodded his beak in agreement.

So it was a rigged game after all. It was either _get_ trapped in a layer of ice, or fight Todoroki and Kirishima in an area where Todoroki was at a massive advantage. _Great_. Akira briefly thought, scrunching his face. _You know what? I'll have to rig up a surprise as well._

And he knew just how to do it.

"Tokoyami?" he asked, the bird quirk user gesturing to him that he had his attention. "You said the floor above this is the bomb, right?" he asked. Tokoyami nodded. "In that case, hold onto me tight because you and I are gonna be going _up._ "

Akira quickly raised a single finger upwards and pointed towards the ceiling above, drastically hoping that his plan wouldn't go wrong. As he felt Tokoyami's arms grab his own, he quickly switched his persona and cast a spell that was specifically harmful to architecture.

That of course, being nuclear.

"Freila!" he yelled, and instantly switched his persona to _Yoshitsune_ and quickly did a power charge, consecutively blowing up a large part of the ceiling above him and jumping upwards, Tokoyami in tow. He allowed himself to briefly relish the look on Todoroki's face as he and Tokoyami respectively got into combat stances, Akira pulling out his sword and Tokoyami summoning Dark Shadow.

Just his luck, both Todoroki _and_ Kirishima were here. Akira grinned, exchanging a single look with his partner.

Using Dark Shadow's extended range to maximum advantage, Tokoyami advanced on the red haired boy, instantly getting ahead just from the element of surprise. Similarly, Akira charged Todoroki, switching his persona to _Goemon_ to resist the ice. And maybe send a little bit of his own to match.

Surprisingly, Kirishima held his own against the more long ranged Dark Shadow, slowly advancing on Akira's partner. _Shit_. Kirishima was good, there was no denying that. Through a series of well executed kicks, punches and dodges, Dark Shadow was pushed back. It looked like the two opponents were in a tug of war with no clear victor in sight.

Then, a large wave of ice hit him. Thankfully because of _Goemon_ he wasn't too affected, but it still wasn't a pleasant feeling. Akira grimaced, refocusing on his own opponent who had a look of stoic concentration on his face. _Talk about a poker face, jeez..._

As the next wave of ice rushed towards him, Akira leaped above it, quickly casting a _bufu_ and sending a spike of ice to break the next wave quickly approaching. Unfortunately, the ice _didn't_ break, only having a crack. _Shit_. Akira once again felt his body pushed back with yet another wave of ice. _This is starting to get annoying._

Technically he had the ability to set this entire room on fire. But that would endanger a needless amount of people. These were still his classmates, after all. He needed to fight on some sort of even ground, even if Todoroki's ice hurt like a bitch. Quickly, Akira switched his persona to Yoshitsune, simply deciding to go with the blunt force approach. Casting a power charge and taking out his sword-dagger, he smashed through the waves of ice being sent at him, eventually reaching Todoroki. He raised his blunted blade to attack-

-and then something hit him from the back.

Akira wheezed. _How? Isn't he only supposed to- oh... That makes more sense now._

The entire room was covered in Ice. He was quite literally fighting in Todoroki's domain. For all rights and purposes, he was supposed to have _lost_ by now. Frankly, he wasn't even sure why Todoroki hadn't spiked him to death by now. _Unless..._ Akira looked at the red and white haired boy. _Of course! He has a quota, and he's used most of it in the trap and this room. He has to be more efficient with how sparingly he uses his po- oh SHIT!_

Akira cursed as he sidestepped the wave of ice speeding towards him, quickly regretting that he hadn't picked an Ice-immune persona as one of his final 12. While he still had _Goemon_ , it was rather painfully obvious that the persona wasn't going to cut it with his current opponent, especially in Akira's current state of power.

Todoroki suddenly closed the distance between them, a fist raised in a punching position. _So that's the alternative, huh?_ Akira made the split second decision immediately, switching to _Yoshitsune_ as the punch landed. Although Yoshitsune had lost the ability to repel anything ever since he had somehow _lost his way_ , the Physical persona still made his skin about as hard as solid stone.

Akira felt a wave of frost encapsulate his body as the fist hit him, briefly recoiling from the shock. _How in the world does that work? All he did was punch me! Science isn't supposed to work that way!_ Although to be fair, he had seen stranger things happen through quirks.

As expected though, Todoroki clutched his fist in pain, the boy's teeth clenched. The reaction was brief, almost unnoticable before the Ice Quirk user hid his expression once more. _Not showing any weakness. I have to say, that's pretty impressive coming from someone his age._

Unfortunately, it was time to end this now.

Adjusting his gloves, Akira flung off his mask dramatically, instantly feeling the rejuvenation of _Power Charge_ take its effect. He felt stronger. Faster. More energized. It drained his pools of energy like a bitch, but it definitely had its uses. Akira had made a mistake of severely underestimating his opponent. It was time to remedy that.

He personally took great pleasure in seeing the shock in Todoroki's eyes as he flung himself towards the bomb in the blink of an eye. Though the white and red haired boy did re-adjust himself instantly. _Damn,_ Akira thought. He had underestimated some of these students, and quite badly as well.

But unfortunately for Todoroki, that didn't change the fact that Akira was still on a level of his own. A year's worth of life or death fighting did that to you.

Expecting the two waves of ice Todoroki sent towards him, Akira quickly switched his persona to _Surt_ , quickly casting two _agilao_ spells in quick succession. The two opposing elements met in the middle of the building, shattering Todoroki's ice throughout. Akira cringed as he felt one scratch his cheek.

_The bomb._

Akira turned back. It so happened that the bomb was right next to him. He had completely forgotten about it during the fight, but it had actually been the key to winning the battle. _Oh well, that's that I guess._

He raised his hand and touched the shell. The whistle blew, and the battle was over.

* * *

In the end, Todoroki had been declared as the MVP of the match for his ingenuity in traps, but the boy looked seething. Angry. Unsatisfied. The fact remained that Akira had beat him, and Akira could tell that _that_ particular fact probably had an effect in causing such a reaction.

Todoroki was strong. He was someone who fought to _win._ That much was obvious. Exactly _why_ he looked so disappointed now though, that was something Akira couldn't pinpoint exactly. He suspected the boy wouldn't tell him either, considering Todoroki's rather aloof nature so far.

Still, Akira couldn't help himself from smiling. That... That had been exhilarating. That had been _fun_. It was almost like he was invading palaces with Ryuji again. The ever shifting _novelty_ of the combat was something he could get used to for sure. It was challenging and new, and most importantly, _fun._

He couldn't help but grin like an idiot. Maybe this was part of his rehabilitation process too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing I do want to note is the pacing. I do feel like I might be moving through things too quickly. Please leave some feedback on that area, as I would like to improve possible problems.
> 
> Now that that's all done, once again thanks for reading this chapter and please make sure to leave a review! They really do make my day.
> 
> Until the next chapter, see ya lovely folks.


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filler chapter mostly. Things happen... Things.

Akira gazed as the target covered itself once more with a pillar of fire, feeling the now all too familiar slight strain on his body as the pillar dissipated and the seemingly invincible dummy still being perfectly fine, Shoto Aizawa gazing at him with a face that was admittedly really fucking intimidating. Akira sweat dropped. _Is this another test? Why do I feel like I'm being horribly judged right now?_

"Again." Aizawa repeated. Akira glanced at the pro hero (and his homeroom teacher as well) before nodding and summoning his power once more.

"Agidyne!" he yelled as the pillar materialized once more, and faded once more, as expected. Akira let out a deep breath, feeling the strain starting to slowly eat away at his stamina. _Shit, Igor better have a damn good reason for keeping me in the dark for this long._

"Alright, stop." Aizawa finally said, and Akira quickly nodded before drinking a gulp of water. "Can you do anything else other than that?" Aizawa asked. Akira nodded once more, his list of abilities coming to him all too naturally now. Once, he had to think of them to use them. Now, calling to his mind the right element felt more autonomous than anything. At least, when dealing with shadows. Humans added a whole new layer of headaches to the entire gag.

"I can enhance my physical strength and stamina, and do it to others as well. I can heal injuries, smack things around, and switch between... different modes, I guess. Depending on the situation. One of them can take a punch like a champ. The other is resistant to fire."

Aizawa's face remained impassive. "Sounds useful. Nezu was right. Unless your quirk is harnessing some sort of extraterrestrial energy no one knows about, your abilities are clearly not quirk related. It also helps that my quirk doesn't work on yours either."

The man shrugged.

"Alright. Seeya." said Aizawa before the pro hero promptly disappeared abnormally quickly, leaving Akira in an incredulous haze.

"That's it? You have nothing to say? No tips? After working me to the bone for hours during midnight?!" Akira half yelled at the air, knowing that Aizawa was not going to hear him. Hell, he expected the man to be sleeping in his caterpillar shaped sleeping bag by now. Still, he couldn't quite help himself. "Seeya... _Seeya._ Nothing else. Just _seeya._ "

He noticed a can of coffee on the floor. It had a smiley face on it.

Akira kicked it. It went flying. He supposed Aizawa felt awfully smug about all of this in the little dreamland the man was probably in as of a couple minutes ago.

"Asshole."

He muttered angry curses at his homeroom teacher (who was, if he was to remind himself once more, probably very smug about this) as he walked back to his dorm, insults that he regretted not utilizing there and then. "Fucking seeya..." he mumbled.

Inside, he had the odd yet horrible feeling that his teacher wasn't just quite done unleashing his _free spirit._ Still, he was tired, sweaty and ready for bed, not to mention way past a "Morgana acceptable" hour to be awake at night. If we was going to do any worrying, he would do it in the morning.

* * *

**Weekends**

* * *

It had only been a week since Akira had started school again, but _damn_ it felt good to be back at LeBlanc. Although he had taken the time to keep the cafe running in his free time during the weekdays, it was nice to take the edge off like this. Making coffee felt _good_. His hands moved with practiced autonomy as he tinkered with the different machines and ingredients.

It was as good of a stress reliever as anything. Not to mention it helped him... reconnect back with Tokyo. Although he supposed it was really the opposite of what Igor had told him to do, he was sure that there was more than just that. After all, he had abandoned Leblanc for a while, but Igor hadn't made additional contact. So surely, that wasn't what he was doing wrong.

And besides, he was starting to finally understand what Sojiro was saying about customers. Now that he was starting to get regulars, he really was starting to enjoy exchanging a decent amount of banter between him and his customers. It made a nice, cozy feeling settle down inside of him.

The food and coffee helped too. But he liked to think that those were silly semantics.

The doorbell rang again, opening the door to one of his more... unfortunate regulars. As Shota Aizawa walked in, a slightly shit-eating smile on his face, Akira knew he was in for a ride. He had been on a quest for the past week, after the investigation on his abilities, (which of course had to be at midnight) to try and talk back to his homeroom teacher to a point where he would be able to unfaze him.

But nope. The mighty Joker of the phantom thieves was alas, no match for the sheer _superpower_ his teacher had to somehow subtly jab him with every sentence, completely unfazed by anything. Anything verbal, at least. In that sense, Akira felt like he was getting to know his homeroom teacher an awful lot better than he wanted to or expected to. Although in all fairness, Akira had started the entire thing with his snarky comments after the test day. Aizawa, although the man was usually quiet as hell, was one hell of a talker.

And thus began another one of Akira's games, this one with a freaking homeroom teacher. Although he supposed Kawakami had also filled in that role before.

It was bad enough that Jiro had gotten through to him. Although, he supposed she had been lucky. He _liked_ his costume, and he would die on that hill no matter what. Either way, revenge would be served, and it would be served swiftly and with _style_.

"How may I take your order sir?" Akira asked his homeroom teacher.

"The usual." said Aizawa as he sat down. Akira got to work quickly, not feeling quite in the mood for quips or jokes. Yet. So far, his day was going good. The weather was sunny, the clouds were clear, and he was free to take the edge off and cook for the day.

Quickly pushing a few buttons, Akira mixed the usual house blend with extra doses of caffeine, the curry steaming behind him. _Seriously, I'll never understand how this guy can take so much of this._ Sojiro's original was already a fairly bitter mixture, and Akira personally preferred the coffee with some cream and sugar. Not as much as Ann of course, although he did suppose it would be damn near impossible to like sugar as much as Ann did. Aizawa on the other hand, was a freaking maniac when it came to his coffee. Akira honestly had no idea how the man wasn't a jittery, hyperactive mess.

The doorbell rang again, and a familiar face entered the cafe. Jet black hair tied into a spiky ponytail and a tall figure. Momo Yaoyorozu was certainly someone that stood out. _Seriously, how in the world does she make her hair like that?_

The girl immediately stopped. "Kurusu? Aizawa-sensei? What-"

Akira quickly waved a hand towards a seat. "Why don't you take a seat? The meal is on me for classmates. I do recommend the house blend and the curry, the two sound ridiculous but they really fit very well together if you're willing to give it a try." he said. That was when Aizawa stood up.

"I suppose this is my queue to leave. You two have fun. Maybe Yaoyorozu can be a good role model for you, Kurusu." Aizawa said as he walked out of the coffee shop, and Akira could practically _feel_ the man grinning. He couldn't help but let out a slight chortle of his own.

"Asshole." he muttered. In the end, his encounters with Aizawa somehow always ended with that particular word. All in all, a week after he had- albeit jokingly- declared revenge on the man, he was beginning to like his homeroom teacher. God bless. Still, inside the homeroom the man was still a damn _hawk_. It was almost impressive how the man could shift from a somewhat sarcastic coffee addict to a professional hero and a teacher in the blink of an eye, even _within_ the classroom. He still remembered the day the man had concluded the lesson early and pulled out the sleeping bag. Looking back at it, it was a pretty hilarious moment. Still, it was amazing that UA still _let things like these off_. It was pretty cool in a sense, to be honest. UA was wild and weird and juvenile in a way Shujin had never been, but still maintained quality.

"Kurusu!" Yaoyorozu admonished. "It's horribly inappropriate to refer to your teachers like that. Although Aizawa's comment to you was horribly rude as well..." she trailed off, and Akira laughed, shaking his head slightly.

"Don't worry. Neither of us are being serious. Maybe you should meet with some of UA's teacher as well outside of classes. Power Loader is a funny old man, but I think you and him would get along pretty well" Akira said. "Anyways, what brings you here?" he asked.

"I got recommended this place from a friend. She said that it had some of the best coffee she'd ever had. I didn't expect at all that it would be so close to UA, and I'm still wondering how a 16 year old is managing this place. I'll have what you mentioned, by the way."

Akira nodded, quickly getting to work. "Do you want sugar or cream or both?" he asked. Yaoyorozu put her hand on her chin, looking thoughtful for a brief moment before answering.

"I'll just have cream, thank you. And I'm still waiting for that explanation." said Yaoyorozu. Akira nodded.

"Well, I'm not technically breaking any laws. This coffee shop, according to all legal papers, belongs to Sojiro Sakura, a 38 year old man who in reality, doesn't exist. In reality, I work here because I'm pretty good at it, and because I enjoy it. It helps take some stress off during weekends." Akira replied. Yaoyorozu looked thoughtful.

"I don't like that you're... bending the laws, but I guess there's not too much harm in this." she said, before smiling. "And really? Making coffee is your stress relief mechanism? From the demonstration you gave in the quirk tests and the fight with Todoroki, I expected you would be doing something much more... physical, I guess."

"What, you expected me to hit the gym with a tank top and start lifting weights, screaming at the air?" Akira jabbed. "For the record, I'll have you know that I would make the best housewife. In history. No contest at all."

Yaoyorozu snorted. "I do suppose that... "hitting the gym" seems a bit weird, now that I've seen you running a coffee shop." she said, once again looking thoughtful. "Don't you think Iida would make quite the housewife though? I do feel like there's quite some hidden potential behind his karate chops. Perhaps he should start a massage parlor."

It was Akira's turn to snort this time.

"Hey! I was being serious on that!" Yaoyorozu complained.

Akira burst out laughing, much to the chagrin of his single customer. "You think Iida would make a good massager?" he said, grinning at the thought of his robotic classmate chopping backs like he chopped the air, the tall boy's face filled with determination.

Yaoyorozu glared at him in response, before finally chuckling a bit herself. "I do suppose the thought is slightly ridiculous to... visualize."

"Ya think?" Akira said. "Anyways, your food and coffee is done."

With exaggerated posh, he carried the plate and drink and placed it on the table. "Enjoy," he said as he walked back to the counter, waiting for what would most likely be the ultimate test subject for his coffee. After all, if he wasn't wrong, Yaoyorozu was an "experienced tea drinker."

And well, close enough, right? If anything, the girl would have high standards.

"This is great! Kurusu, you really would make a good housewife." said Yaoyorozu, completely earnestly. Akira couldn't help but snort. His domestic skills (especially compared to Ann's) had been a bit of a running gig during his time with the Thieves, but that had always been sarcastic. There was a certain _new_ type of humor in someone calling him an amazing housewife with complete and utter honesty.

Ten minutes later, Momo stood up to leave.

"Thank you Kurusu, the food was great. I'll be sure to recommend your shop to some others. This place seems awfully lacking of customers right now anyway." she said. Akira shrugged. He actually quite liked the more quiet atmosphere, but he certainly wasn't opposed to a few more customers. "Are you really fine with me not paying for this?" she asked. Akira nodded.

"Food and drinks are on me for friends. Just make sure to point a few classmates here, yeah? I'm pretty set for money, so there's no need to worry about that, but I do get a little lonely here sometimes." he said, adding the last part in slightly jokingly. Although from what little he knew of Yaoyorozu, there was a chance she would take the statement a bit _too_ seriously.

"Thank you Kurusu. That's very kind of you." she said as she exited the shop. "I would like to stay a bit longer, but I do have lots of work to do, so I'll see you on monday."

Akira smiled as the door closed shut. That had been fun. _Hell, maybe I'll invite some more of my classmates here directly as well just for the sake of it._ It _was_ true after all. He did get slightly lonely at LeBlanc, as nice as making coffee was.

An hour later, the doorbell rang again, introducing Akira to one of his regulars.

"Hello again sir, would you like the usual?"

* * *

**Monday**

* * *

"Alright," Aizawa started, "today is a very important day, and the next few moments are gonna possibly define your entire stay at UA, so listen closely." said the man. Immediately, Akira could feel the tension in the classroom rise as the students peered forwards, curious on what the man had to say. Akira had to admit, he was interested as well. Was Aizawa going to preach lessons on heroism on the class? _No, that's not in character of him at all. But what else?_ Akira couldn't think of any alternatives, at least at the moment.

Aizawa snapped the tension immediately. "You'll be picking your class president." he said. Akira sweat dropped as the class feigned various degrees of mock outrage. _I keep forgetting sometimes that UA does some completely normal-school things as well._

"Alright, I'm taking a nap. Wake me when you're done picking." said Aizawa before the man summoned his god forsaken sleeping bag and jumped into it with practiced grace, leaving the class effectively on its own. Akira blinked. After knowing the various duties Makoto had needed to take care of during her time as class president, he certainly wasn't in a hurry to try out for the position himself. _Makoto made the stuff look easy, but I've seen that paperwork, and there's no chance in hell I'm volunteering for that._

He looked around the class, noticing various classmates raising their hands and speaking over each other on why they would be right for the role, save for Midoriya, who looked more nervous than anything, Jiro, who was fiddling around with her earphone jacks, and Ojiro, who sat rather passively in his seat with a poker face.

And then, one voice cut through the rest of the crowd.

"LET'S COME TO ORDER EVERBODY!" yelled Tenya Iida with a level of noise that made Akira honest to god impressed. _Holy shit, this guy is a human megaphone._ "We will get nowhere like this. I propose we hold a vote to decide who gets to become class president!"

After some brief hesitation, the entire room immediately seemed agreed with that idea, everyone except for Bakugo nodding in understanding. Iida continued, "We should hold short speeches on why we should become class president in the same order as the seating charts, and then we can vote. Does everyone find that plan agreeable?"

Once again, the room seemed to agree, save for the resident blonde, who merely grunted.

Following that particular debacle, (which Aizawa had somehow, despite all odds, slept through once more without even a speck of disturbance) Akira watched in amusement as a wild variety of speeches were given by an equally wild and varied student base.

"My charm and sparkle will push this class forward into the top that it deserves to be in!" said Aoyama.

"I'll make all sorts of fun things to do!" exclaimed Ashido.

"I think I can do well. It would be nice if you would vote for me." said Asui, the girl somehow still looking like the best candidate so far. Akira sweat dropped. Well, at least he was sure of who he _wasn't_ voting for. Maybe he was a bit biased, but he would probably judge candidates based on how similar they were to Makoto. _Seriously, I still have no idea how she does it._

He shuddered at the thought of the paperwork he had seen laying on the student council office desk.

Next was Iida, someone Akira was personally looking forward to. _If anything, he can control the class well, and has a megaphone for a voice. Although I wouldn't say he's quite like Makoto or even Sae for that matter, he definitely isn't anything to scoff at._

Iida cleared his throat. Akira grinned in anticipation. _Oh man, he really never strays from the first impression, doesn't he?_

"My name is Tenya Iida! I ask of all of you to vote me for the honor of being class representative. I am fully ready for and will be able to manage the hard work and responsibility that comes with being class president, and you can have my assurance that I will work effortlessly to make sure that all of your voices are heard and you have the best possible time in UA! Thank you!"

Iida bowed.

 _Well, I'm convinced that he'll give it his all at the very least._ Akira had a feeling that Tenya Iida was someone who was fairly easy to read. Akira liked that. That meant that he could trust him to not lie. For now at least, he was convinced that Iida really was the best candidate available. At the very least, he sure as hell wasn't someone who would slack off. Akira was about 90% sure of that.

Afterwards, another flurry of speeches began and ended quickly, leading to the _other_ speech Akira was quite excited for, although for a completely different reason. Grinning like a child, the former phantom thief sat forward in his chair, gazing intently.

Katsuki Bakugo walked onto stage. Grinning savagely, he raised one arm, smoke and light forming around it. The class went wide eyed, and Akira noticed some of them either gripping their chairs or getting ready to push off of them, just in case something seriously bad happened.

"If you don't vote for me, I'll fucking kill you all."

A blast signaled the forthcoming explosion, just large enough to scare the students in the room, but at the same time small enough to be considered a safe size for an indoor classroom. _Well, he's certainly a character. If anything he's probably gonna scare the other staff members into complying with what he wants to do._

Next was Midoriya. The boy awkwardly got onto stage, looking slightly embarrassed. "If I become class president, err... I'll work harder than anything to help this class! Thanksandbye!" the boy muttered before quickly scrambling off stage, quickly sitting back down as the next student eagerly marched to the front of the class.

As Mineta spoke, Akira winced. _Yeah, that's err... not something I would typically advise anyone to say on stage. Well, he's brave, I'll give him that. Either that or just really... lacking in self awareness. Oh god._ Akira grimaced, witnessing his classmate commit what he could only describe as social suicide.

Finally, the last student came up on stage and Yaoyorozu cleared her throat in a similar fashion to Iida.

"I don't think I can offer some of the more... exotic offerings that some of your classmates have offered, but I can assure you that if you vote for me, I will make sure that class 1A can truly shine, and all of you are able to share wonderful memories of your time at UA. Thank you." said the girl before walking back to her seat.

In the end, Akira voted for Iida. He didn't know the boy quite well to be honest, but if anything the tall engine quirk user looked structured and organized. Hence, on his newly dubbed Makoto-meter, he was closest to the top.

Aizawa had taken that time to finally wake up from his beauty sleep, and took the tray of votes, counting them. The class watched in anticipation as the tallies... didn't rise. Akira watched with no small amount of amusement as a new name was added to the board with each tally, with Midoriya finally being the tiebreaker with three votes, along with Iida and Yaoyorozu both getting two. Aizawa had zero hesitation as he named Midoriya class president, along with Yaoyorozu and Iida being co-vice presidents.

Akira internally shrugged. Midoriya wasn't his first choice, but he liked the boy and knew he was hard working. All in all, not a bad pick whatsoever.

Bakugo looked positively furious. "That twerp got more votes than me? He's _class president?!_ " exclaimed the blonde.

Akira cackled.

_Scrap that, Midoriya's easily the best pick for class pres. Completely worth it._

* * *

"So Kurusu, what exactly _can_ you even do?" asked Denki Kaminari. Akira liked Kaminari. The blonde had lots of good humor and was someone he could definitely get along with easily. To be fair, Akira guessed that the boy was easy for _anyone_ to get along with.

Akira shrugged in response. "Lots of things. I have this weird, general power that I can twist into doing lots of different things." he said, which was the explanation that he had come up with his quirks. In reality, it was a pretty good way to summarize his powers with persona. And the best lies were sprinkled with a few grains of truth after all.

"Damn, I'm not gonna lie, that's kinda busted. Even Todoroki doesn't have that many options, and I'm only really good for one big attack before-" he trailed off and spun his finger around his head. "Cuckoo. Completely bonkers. Brain fried, and all that."

Akira frowned. To some degree, that sounded quite useful. An indiscriminate shock that covered the entire area. "You sure there aren't more uses for it than that?" he asked. "Maybe you can control the range or the direction." Kaminari shook his head.

"Nope," he said, popping the P. "But there's no need to worry about that. Cheer up Kurusu, it's been a week since we've started school. There'll be plenty of things to be sad about when exams start hitting us." Akira cracked a smile, snorting.

"I guess you're right." he replied.

"Kaminari, let the batman brood." a new voice interrupted as both Jiro and Hagakure slid up next to them. Akira mock-glared at the dark haired girl.

"For the record, I consider that a compliment. I quite like the batman." Akira retorted, although to be fair it wasn't really untrue.

"Is that where you get your inspiration from your costume from?" asked Hagakure.

"Does my costume really look like the batman?" Akra asked. He wondered if that was actually an inspiration, to be fair. The costume was created from his subconscious, and although the actual design looked nothing like tight spandex, he did suppose the color scheme and the mask did bear somewhat of a resemblance.

"More like the Joker with edgier colors, to be honest." the girl replied. Akira winced. Considering _Joker_ had actually been his phantom thieves name... _Man, a world with real life superheroes sure flips things up huh._ Jiro elbowed him, smirking. Akira resisted the urge to groan.

"Yes, yes. You win. I do look like a thug. Happy?" he said.

"Very, in fact." replied the rocker. "So it's one to zero so far? I don't remember receding anything yet."

Akira looked at her incredulously. "We're keeping count? For what?"

The girl shrugged. "Dunno. Do you not want to?"

Akira briefly thought about it. "You know what? Sure, why not. Don't expect to keep up that lead though. My skills in digging up dirt are second to none. My friends at my old school even used to call me a fortune teller." he said with bravado. Kaminari snorted.

"Right. Keep dreaming." retorted the rocker, laughing slightly.

"I should be saying that to you. By the way, just out of curiosity, since you're so into music, can you play it as well?" he threw out, relying on the gut teachings of the almighty Chihaya Mifune, who was... the way he saw it, both somewhat of a loonie and a genius at the same time. Maybe the two were interlinked.

Jiro slightly flinched. _Ah, bullseye._

"Nope. Nu-uh. No playing, singing or dancing at all. Only listening." she said. Akira glanced at Kaminari.

"What do you think, Kaminari? Does Jiro here look like a guitar player or a drummer?" he asked.

"Actually, I think we've talked enough about me now. Why not move along the conversation to other, better things?" Jiro said. "Like lunch, Kaminari, or the class trip we're doing in a few days." Hagakure brightened up, or at least she _looked_ like she brightened up, not that Akira could actually tell.

"Oh yeah! The field trip! I'm excited, even if it's only a one day thing. According to an upperclassman, we'll be doing tons of hero-related activity there, so we'll have to bring lots of water and snacks to eat later." said Hagakure.

"Would it be as bad as a boogieman waking you up at midnight and making you exercise for hours upon end?" Akira asked sarcastically. Denki piqued up.

"There's some sort of story behind this, isn't there?" he asked.

Akira shook his head violently. "Nope. None at all. Totally from my imagination."

That was when the alarm bell rang.

* * *

By the end of the day, Midoriya had officially left the class president role on his first day of duty, and Iida and Yaoyorozu had been given the role of co-presidents, working together as a partnership to represent class 1-A. Akira was quite pleased with that. Midoriya honestly sounded all the happier for it anyway.

 _Well, I suppose since there's only a couple days left until the field trip thing, I should start packing right away,_ he thought before heading back to the dorm immediately instead of stopping at LeBlanc for a few hours. _Oh wait, but before that. I do need to do something._

Breaking into a practiced jog, Akira quickly passed through the large halls of UA, the building being much larger than Shujin but also thankfully not to complicated in its layout, making it rather easy to find which place was which. And the place he was going was a place that practically gave him flare signals. (At least according to other students that had visited the place before)

Eventually, he finally arrived at the development workshop inside the support wing of the academy, taking a deep breath before entering the intimidating looking room.

Inside, was (thank god) Power Loader, tinkering with a myriad of items. The teacher waved at Akira as he entered, Akira giving the man a slight bow. "I was supposed to meet my errr... technician... in here?" he asked, not quite sure of _what_ he was supposed to call this meeting. Power Loader sighed.

"Unfortunately, she's field testing right now, and meeting her isn't what's important anyway. What's important is that the changes you requested are finished, although I do have to question the... aesthetic you're going for here. Aren't you a domestic coffee shop owner? I would think your items and costume would be a lot less... aggressive looking."

Akira shrugged. "To be fair, it's more for nostalgia's sake than anything, along with... err, not having a water gun shaped weapon." he said. Power Loader snorted. "Although, I do like the longer reach on the sword, and the blunt addition. Those were some nice touches, so I would need to thank my... designer."

"You're right on that. Hatsume's got her quirks, but she's damn good at what she does." said Power Loader as he pulled out a case from the shelf. "Anyways, here's your gear. You sure you don't want us to design you a costume as well?" said the teacher as he handed Akira the case.

Akira shook his head in reassurance. "Don't worry, I've got the costume covered." he said as he opened the case with- he couldn't deny- a degree of anticipation.

He grinned.

The swords looked more polished and generally better, but one item was clearly different. Instead of the water gun there were two items. One was a circular, disk shaped cartridge case, finished with a clip to hang it. Akira looked at it curiously. "What does this do?" he asked.

"Ah, that's one of Hatsume's less insane ideas. It's a way to quickly reload and switch between bullets." said Power Loader. Akira nodded. He had ordered two guns for both rubber bullets and crumber bullets, a type he had read about in a magazine that were more effective than rubber but not lethal. At least, unless someone really screwed up. He had a few ideas on how he could combine that with what he could already do.

He held up the singular silver pistol and looked at it carefully. It looked a lot like the other guns he had used in the metaverse before, and just like the other guns, it _looked_ enough like a real gun to pass off as one on first sight, but it was definitely clear that it wasn't made for lethal combat.

"One gun?" he asked. He had a subtle idea on what would be the answer already.

As expected, Power Loader shrugged. "You know what I'm gonna say."

Akira took a step back before quickly loading in a rubber bullet, charging the gun and pulling the trigger at a practice dummy nearby. _Holy shit. The recoil's much less than what I expected. Welcome to the future after all._

He grinned, turning to Power Loader and breathing in a sigh of relief. He had feared that he wouldn't be finished before the field trip, and it was definitely a reassurance that the team at UA could work so quickly.

"Thank you Power Loader. I can definitely work with this." he said, grinning.

Although things were still awfully uncertain, he had a feeling that things would really start looking up for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes
> 
> Hey, howdy, ho,
> 
> How is everybody doing? Sorry for being dreadfully late with this chapter, I was hit with a flurry of irl problems and needed to sort through all that stuff before starting to work on this again. Fortunately though, that stuff is over, and presumably we can return to not having too much of a delay again starting from next chapter.
> 
> In terms of content, sorry if this is a bit dull. This chapter is the finale for the first "arc" of the series I guess, and it works on establishing the relationships that will take center stage in the story, along with providing some good fun and character interaction.
> 
> Next up we're getting into some thick plot, because we have the USJ arc, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
> 
> As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, and thank you once again for sticking through this and reading.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
> (Update: (12/16/2020) Fixed some spelling issues)


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> USJ starts

**-UA / Some time before the USJ trip-**

Akira looked at the single distinctive decoration inside his new room. He'd been looking at it a lot recently, although he couldn't fathom the reason why. Well, he could. He knew the feeling that roused up inside his chest every time he looked at the decoration, but he couldn't quite put it into words.

The picture of the Phantom Thieves stared back at him almost mockingly. The background of the photo, his room inside LeBlanc cafe- the first one- made him want to do... something. Akira flexed his fingers, making sure to put an almost stupid amount of energy into doing it. What was he supposed to do? He wanted, _needed_ to do something to get the feeling off of his chest and discard it, hopefully forever. _But how am I supposed to do something when I don't even know what I'm supposed to do?_

The grin on Ryuji's face was starting to look more and more like a smirk. Akira resisted the sudden urge to punch the picture. To destroy it and burn it and make sure he never saw the _damned thing_ again in his life. But he couldn't do that. He could never do that.

He wasn't sure why. On one hand, he wanted to believe it was love for his old friends. And some part of him _did_ believe that. But the much more cynical side of his mind told him that there was really _nothing_ concrete that stopped him from destroying the picture. There was only what he wanted to do. And that didn't need a reason. It just _was._

So many questions. So many questions he needed to answer, both about himself and the world around him. And the latter was fine. It was something completely reasonable. He had only been here properly for a year after all. No one would know everything and anything to know about a whole new world in such a short period of time. The former however, that was _frustrating._ That part he could be sure of.

He had always considered himself as having a strong sense of identity. Before Tokyo, he had made sure to separate himself from the crowd, not caring much for friendships other than some superficial relationships that were quite honestly bound to break down easily. Independence. Intelligence. Awareness. Contentness. He had _known_ his goals, his traits, his needs and strengths and weaknesses.

Then Tokyo had come along and completely destroyed his priorities. Broken through the illusion that he himself had worked so hard to set up. He was the Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves that went past legal boundaries to take down the people that were immune to the law. Being a Phantom Thief and being _with_ the Phantom Thieves had been exhilarating. Refreshing. He had felt like he was finally _himself_.

Now, he wasn't so sure of anything. He was Akira. He was Joker. He was _sure_ of those two identities. But what _was_ Akira? What was Joker? What did those two things mean inside this strange new world? Akira picked up a notebook and opened it, clicking his pen and drawing a small diagram.

Makoto had always said that writing would help. Maybe he would finally try it out.

By the end of thirty minutes, he had written down numerous things he liked, disliked, all in the left column of _Akira_. He grinned. Somehow, even though his pillar of solidity was gone, knowing for sure that he was fond of curry was somehow oddly reassuring.

Joker on the other hand was harder. Hard enough that the column was completely blank.

Akira frowned. _Why do you want to be a hero?_

The question echoed endlessly in his brain. His brain didn't answer back. Maybe it didn't want to, maybe it couldn't. Akira wasn't sure which was worse. _What does the Joker mean? I know better than to think that the Phantom Thieves could exist again here, but I still have a journey ahead of me. So what is Joker here? What am I here?_

 _What is the Joker? What is the Joker? What is the Joker?_ _What is the Joker? What is the Joker? What is the Joker?_ _What is the Joker? What is the Joker? What is the Joker?_ _What is the Joker? What is the Joker? What is the Joker?_

He snapped the notebook shut, inhaling deeply and wiping his thoughts. There would be time to think of that and ponder on it later on. For now, he had bigger priorities. Like the USJ trip coming up soon that frankly did excite him, although he would never hope to even come close to the hype someone like Midoriya.

Akira grinned in amusement, immediately grinning afterwards for a completely different reason.

_Well, at least I still have my humor. Life would be awfully dry if I become the next Kobayakawa._

Immediately, he shuddered and slapped himself. _That's a thought I never wanna have again._

* * *

**-Present Time-**

Akira slowly tapped the window of the bus as he gazed outwards, looking at the landscape outside. It looked nice. Pretty. Vibrant and colorful, with lots of bright greens and blues and pinks. A hill passed by, and then a lake. A mountain, a tree, a flower field.

He stopped, his finger frozen in midair. Slowly, he curled it back into the grip of his hand, fiddling with something that didn't exist.

A snap of the fingers.

 _I'm bored_ , he finally concluded, quickly followed by a _why am I bored?_ Fiddling with his fingers more, he gazed intently towards the horizon as if it would hold all of the answers to his questions. _I was excited for this trip. I was looking forward to it. So why do I feel so indifferent?_

Another snap. This time louder.

Akira grimaced. His thoughts were headed towards a direction he wasn't fond of at all. Everything tossed aside, the last thing he wanted to ever be was some dull, stuck up posh boy who took the fun out of everything and anything. _Although I do suppose that me thinking this is indication enough that I'm not going there._

This time a poke to his arm. Akira jolted from his thoughts and looked to the side. Jiro stared back at him looking unimpressed. "Do you sleep with your eyes open or are you just hazy?" she asked. Akira's mouth slowly shaped to an "O" as he realized what the snaps had been.

"Sorry," he apologized sincerely. "Just hazy. I'm not exactly the brightest of the bunch."

 _Another oddity,_ he told himself. _I never thought I was the type to get lost in thought like this. Jeez, what in the world is happening to me? It's like all of a sudden I've been switched out with a coke addict version of myself._

"Anyway," Jiro continued, "Ashido wanted to-"

"Oi Kurusu!" the pink haired girl interrupted. "Who do you think would make the best hero out of all of us here?"

A part of him wanted to blurt out "Why me, of course," but he decided against it. With his old friends they would know that he wasn't being serious. With 1-A though, they didn't know him as well as the Phantom Thieves and frankly he didn't want to leave the impression that he was a self centered asshole.

Instead, he thought of the next automatic response, and simply said, "Easily Mineta." thanking the lords on the way that at least he could still find things funny. Still, he did glance towards the boy after he blurted out that particular comment, and sighed slightly in relief as the grapefruit-haired(?) hero in training simply seemed to laugh it off along with the rest of the class, save for Todoroki who remained as stoic as ever.

 _This is nice,_ he immediately thought. It was really only a start, but he enjoyed being together with 1-A. Maybe that was the start towards his recovery, or whatever bullshit Igor had mentioned.

"Oi," a voice called out. Akira turned towards Jiro once more, who looked at him much more seriously. "You ok? You look like you're trying to imitate Todoroki."

He snorted.

"I'm fine, just a little few hiccups with a weird circumstance. Nothing anyone should worry about, really." he said. _Actually now that I think about it, the less I think about this the better off my mood tends to be. Maybe I should really just forget about this and see how things turn out by the end of this gig._

He mentally patted himself on the back for that particular revelation before wiping his thoughts. _Right. No more thinking. Except for in classes. I will not think about anything other than Science and Math. Although actually..._

A sudden idea crossed his mind.

So far, he had always felt a strange feeling lying inside his gut. Ever since Yalbaboath had been defeated. A lack of confidence maybe, or a sense of detachment. _If Igor told me to recover, and if my inner bullshit is weird and foggy, I should probably start taking the initiative._

Suddenly he felt a surge of confidence. _Right. I feel confident when I have ideas and goals to achieve. I should probably note that down later._

Anyways, maybe it was time he started to solidify his bonds in this world. Not quite considering how much of a fool he would make of himself, he turned to Jiro to his left and Kaminari behind him with an earnest smile.

"Could I be friends with you two?" he asked with complete sincerity. Kaminari's reaction was fairly instantaneous, the boy raising an eyebrow in confusion but giving a lopsided smile.

"That's a helluva weird question," he said. "but why not? You seem pretty cool Kurusu, you'll be fine."

Jiro looked at him strangely, her face contorted between confusion and laughter. "You're fucking with us right now, right?" she asked, before snickering and laying back in her seat. "You're really weird sometimes, you know that?"

"Nope," Akira replied, popping the 'p' and grinning like a fool for reasons he couldn't quite fathom. "Completely dead serious here. No kidding around from me ma'am."

"Oh great, you're back to normal again. Don't be sincere like that, it's scary." Jiro jabbed. Akira smiled as he laid back on his seat, his mood significantly better compared to before. _See? I do feel better when I start doing things._

His mood skyrocketed even more when he heard a familiar crashing noise echo throughout his ears, a noise that he hadn't expected he would hear ever again. After so much time, it almost felt like an old friend returning back to him, similar to the tarot card, or rather the tarot cards that appeared in his mind.

 _Kaminari being a magician definitely makes sense,_ he immediately thought, _Jiro being a tower though? That one I definitely didn't see coming._

He made a mental note to look up tarot meanings later before quickly wiping the thoughts from his mind. _I have time to mull over that later. For now, I have other things to do,_ he thought, looking out the window once more. In the landscapes, a new, foreign structure appeared. The silhouette of USJ could be seen in the background, and the bus was driving right towards it.

* * *

Akira strolled into the USJ stadium feeling rather confident. His costume draped comfortably around his shoulders and his mask lay on his face, its weight an old friend from times past. His dagger- no, his dagger-sword _thing_ , blunted of course, hung at his belt and a handgun lay comfortably on the opposite end. The final piece of equipment gave him a sense of _comfort_ more than anything else.

Even if he probably wasn't going to use it.

The hero standing in front of him was yet another demonstration of just how odd this world was. The Space Hero Thirteen was seemingly a sentient spacesuit, one that was aptly suited for rescue missions. _Smart,_ he thought. _She would go well with kids. Do kids like astronauts here actually?_

He made a note to google that later.

"Remember," Thirteen said, "your quirks, just like all quirks, are dangerous. They can be used for horrible, destructive things. That's why you're here now. To control your powers, and to make sure to use them to help people instead of endangering them. Saving people's lives are the biggest part of being a hero, even more than fighting villains."

Akira found himself nodding along with the rest of the class, although he didn't quite think it was a noteworthy or new piece of advice. _Although I certainly can't disagree with it. Still, is that something that people really need to be told?_ he asked himself, before he automatically glanced at Bakugo and everything came flying back at him with a rather painful mental slap.

 _Right,_ he thought. It was still slightly surreal to connect the moniker of 'Hero' from his world back to this one. A Hero being a profession certainly did shake things up quite a bit, though there were still definitely people who would have been considered heroes in either world. All Might came to mind most obviously.

 _Were the Phantom Thieves_ _heroes as well?_ the question flew to his mind almost automatically. _Yes_ , he immediately thought. Though it felt weird to attach that particular title to people he was so familiar with, by most technical terms Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Haru, Morgana and Futaba were heroes for sure.

Although in this world they would have most likely been classified as Vigilantes.

"Alright, any questions?" Thirteen asked, with many hands immediately going up on the air.

Something flickered in front of them. Something _purple_. Akira activated his third eye immediately almost out of instinct. _It's red now. But why would the color change like that? It's just a spark of... something. It couldn't be anything hostile, right? Although considering what I've experienced so far, I've probably just jinxed myself._

The spark grew into a vortex. Akira pursed his lips, gazing intently at whatever the thing was as his classmates started to catch onto the oddity as well.

_Yep, definitely jinxed myself._

"Stay back," Aizawa immediately said, dashing to the front with a sense of nimble grace Akira had never seen before out of the teacher. Thirteen turned towards the scene as well, and although she was nothing but a spacesuit, Akira could almost intrinsically sense the practiced confidence that the pro-hero had while facing possible danger. _So that's what separates Pro Heroes from students, huh?_

Suddenly, from the swirling purple vortex, _people_ started to emerge. Lots and _lots_ of people that definitely fit the category of a bad guy, at least in Akira's standards. _Creepy costumes? Angry faces? Edgy color schemes? Yup, these people definitely aren't friendly._

Aizawa and Thirteen both tensed, but neither of them made a single movement. Akira frowned. _These people are really villains, aren't they? This isn't some sort of drill, these people are really out to harm a bunch of students. Unless we're not the ones they're after?_

From the crowd, a single figure emerged, distinguishing himself immediately as the pack leader of the group. Akira narrowed his eyes. _Are those... hands? Attached to his limbs and face?_ It was a strange design, oddly fitting with the colorful, quirky nature of this world, but different as well. Creepy for sure.

The leader suddenly stopped. As if he was in hesitation. Then, the man started to _twitch_. His fingers, his neck, his arms and legs and body. They all _twitched_ as if they were in severe distress. The sight was oddly disturbing, and evident from the expressions on his classmates, he wasn't the only one who thought so.

"I was told All-Might would be here." said the man as he immediately stopped, now standing almost nonchalantly. "Where's All Might?" he asked, the veil of a threat hidden away inside his voice. _Didn't Aizawa mention that All Might had a flu or something?_

"You're looking for All Might?!" a voice yelled. Akira instantly recognized the voice as belonging to Bakugo and couldn't help but grin. _A complete ass he may be, but it's definitely not so bad when he's directing his insults at villains._ "He would crush you fuckers like flies!"

"I see." mumbled out the leader, his voice laced with anger that spoke of bad things to come. "Villains!" yelled the man. "Let's kill some wannabe heroes today, shall we?"

Although it wasn't visible, Akira had the sudden feeling that the man was grinning. It wasn't a good feeling at all. As the massive horde of villains started to mobilize, Aizawa immediately jumped into action, only to be stopped by Midoriya. The pro hero looked at the student with a mixture of confusion and frustration as Midoriya stepped towards him.

"Aizawa-sensei, your quirk isn't suited for fighting large crowds! You'll-"

"Don't worry kid. You don't become a hero if you're a one trick pony." Aizawa interrupted before he promptly leaped into the horde of enemies.

With punches and kicks that subtly reminded Akira of a weird mix between Batman and Spiderman, the pro hero effortlessly took down the goons that had been coming towards them. Midoriya looked towards them with a nervous face, but a fire of confidence in his movements and voice.

"We need to help him!" said the student. Thirteen put a hand on his shoulder, shaking her head.

"Don't worry about Aizawa," said the pro-hero. "He can handle himself. Right now, both _our_ and _your_ first priorities should be keeping yourselves safe from harm."

 _Fuck that_ , Akira immediately thought before grimacing. He couldn't argue with Thirteen's logic. Aizawa, as unimpressive the man seemed on first glance, was handling himself admirably among the horde of villains that assaulted him ruthlessly. Although from what he could tell, the villains definitely weren't very skilled ones.

"Alright, now scram!" Thirteen said, this time more forcefully. "Let the pros handle this. You aren't ready for something like this yet!"

 _I am_ , Akira grumbled inwardly. _I can handle myself against shadows, villains like these shouldn't be a problem._ He hesitated briefly. _But acting out like this probably won't be my best option right now, and Aizawa looks like he's fine so far... Is this the time for me to rush into something like this head on?_

He knew the answer before the thought finished.

Quickly turning, he dashed in the opposite direction, away from the students and Thirteen, fully preparing to jump down and help Aizawa with the villains. _I have a bad feeling that this isn't some sort of random attack. UA's security isn't lax, right? Whoever these people are, they want to defeat All Might. A declaration like that is usually backed with some kind of punch._

He activated his third eye. _Ah, of course_. The giant inky black monstrosity that stood with the leader (and the leader himself) glowed a crimson red, different from the casual yellow of the other villains. _That bird thing is the most dangerous opponent. They're saving the best for last. But that would also mean that Aizawa should be in danger soon._

"Hey! Get back here!" yelled Thirteen.

"Sorry!" Akira yelled back as he sprinted onwards. _Alright. Just from the looks of it that thing should be borderline immune to physical damage. Same with fire or wind. Dark or thunder, maybe? Although now that I think about it I have no clue how dark affects actual living creatures and not shadows..._

Suddenly, the same purple mist from before rose up the stairway, right in front of him. Akira stopped immediately, jumping backwards. A spell immediately came to the forefront of his mind, and he yelled "Garudyne!" as the mist approached, a strong gust of pressurized wind striking it.

It had no effect.

Akira swore as he switched his persona back to _Yoshitsune_ and leaped back to the students with a single, mighty jump. Immediately afterwards, he tore off his mask, the elemental spells and personas associated with them coming to his head almost instinctually.

He fired off a barrage.

"Garudyne! Ziodyne!"

A gust of wind. A lightning strike. No effect.

"Eigaon! Kougaon! Freidyne! Bufudyne! Agidyne! Psiodyne!"

All of the spells passed through the mist with zero effect. Akira cursed. _What the hell? How am I supposed to hit this guy?_

"Kurusu, stop!" Thirteen ordered loudly, a degree of frustration laced into her voice. "Your priority shouldn't be trying to combat this man. You need to get out, same with the other students." Akira paused, before grunting. _Now that I think about it I'm pretty much going against everything she said earlier about heroism..._

He hesitated. _But wait- Aizawa's alone down there with that... thing. I don't think he'll be able to handle it alone. He actually needs help! But how in hell am I gonna tell that to Thirteen?_

"Thirteen!" Akira yelled. "That black giant creature down there with Aizawa- I don't have a good feeling about it! He needs help!" _Please for the love of god believe me._

"Aizawa is a pro hero, Kurusu. While I appreciate your concern, he'll handle himself just-"

The creature moved.

Or rather, the creature _moved_.

In the blink of an eye, Aizawa's face was grasped in a giant hand that flung it towards the ground, making a small crater in the floor. Akira widened his eyes. _Shit! That thing is fast! Aizawa can't go up against a monster like that and win, right?_ He shook his head. His teacher's combat skills were impressive, but surely they would only go so far against an opponent that could run to you in the blink of an eye.

_Fuck it._

Black mist be damned, Akira casted a _power charge_ before dashing towards where the creature was, away from the crowd of students. "Kurusu!" Thirteen cried. "Get back here! Wait! This isn't your place to intervene!" Akira didn't stop and sprinted faster.

_Screw all of this! No way I'm about to just watch someone get killed, slight douchebag or not._

"Wait! Midoriya, stop! Don't follow him-"

Akira couldn't help but grin, before grimacing. _Trying to help is damn brave of him, but he'll get himself killed against that thing with how badly he breaks his bones every time he uses his power,_ he thought. _Although I suppose that's what people think of me right now. Nobody really knows much about what I can do, don't they?_

Was it hypocritical of him to be angry at Thirteen for trying to get him safe when he thought the same of Midoriya? _Either way, there's no time to think on that right now. Thirteen may be in the right here by trying to stop me, but every moment lost is a moment Aizawa could be killed._

"Sorry!" Akira yelled before jumping down the stairway. _Well at least the mist isn't here now, unless it can multitask and cover me as well as the students?_

"Oh?" mocked the mist immediately as it appeared below him. "You think I would let you do that?"

_Shit._

Immediately afterwards, Akira dropped into the purple void, and the next thing he knew, he was falling from the sky. _Shit, it's a teleportation ability! Where the fuck am I? The center of the USJ is there, so that would mean that I'm above OH FUCK THAT'S A BUILDIN-_

With a bang and a tumble, he crashed down into the abandoned building, thanking the lords above that he had borderline physical negation. _Shit. How am I supposed to get to Aizawa from here?_ Quickly, he put on another _power charge_ and jumped to the top of the collapsed apartment complex, scouting the stadium with his third eye.

_Shit!_

Thirteen was in clearly critical condition, the students were scattered all around USJ, and Aizawa was on the floor unconscious. Although the green light was still undoubtedly there, Akira wasn't sure whether it was going to be there for much longer. _What do I do now?_

A villain appeared. The man was skinny, almost to the point of being bony, most likely something to do with his quirk. Before the man could do anything, Akira flung a quick _bufu_ at him, freezing him in place for hopefully the remainder of the USJ trip. _Wait, there's Ojiro!_

Thankfully, the tailed boy seemed to be handling the situation well, swinging from vintage points and striking villains before they knew what was happening. Akira sighed in relief. _Is there anyone here? There's Tokoyami, but he seems to be fine too. So right now my priority should be getting to Aizawa as quickly as possible._

Relying on the phantom thief skills that he had accumulated throughout his journey, Akira jumped from platform to platform in the crumbling building, quickly making his way towards the outer border of the area and back into the main center of the USJ where Aizawa was. _The monster there... will my personas be able to cut it for that thing?_ Akira clenched his fists in worry. _That thing was damn fast. I'll need to bring out Yoshitsune or Arsene in physical form to combat him. But even then, can they handle that? Have I ever pushed a persona to that physical limit before?_

At the very least, he would be able to pull a quick healing spell to help Aizawa before the man's condition became something irreversible. Akira cringed at the thought. _Shit, why did a field trip like this even have to turn into some life and death scenario? These people are clearly coordinated..._

He wiped the thoughts from his mind as he soared above the final structure, landing right behind Aizawa. The leader turned around in brief confusion.

Before anyone could make a move, Akira quickly pulled off his mask, yelling "Diarahan!" as a sparkle of green light appeared above Aizawa's head, clearing the man's wounds. Aizawa looked at him in shock and slight worry. "Kid, I don't know what you think you can do but right now you have to _run away._ "

"Sorry sensei." Akira said as the black creature that had targeted Aizawa finally turned around to face him. Akira felt a rush of nostalgic adrenaline as he looked the creature in the eyes. _Really feels like Kamoshida again, huh? The face of certain danger, where if I make even a single mistake I'm doomed._

He cracked his neck.

"Bring it on." he said to the creature, although he wasn't sure whether that was meant to _show_ confidence or give _him_ confidence. Either way, it worked, as Akira disappeared and in place, Joker, the leader of the phantom thieves took charge of the situation.

With a natural grin that had been plastered onto his face through the course of several battles ( _Smile. Smiling shows the enemy that you're the one in control._ ) Akira fluently dodged the creature's first punch, swinging his blunted sword at the creature's chest.

The sword shattered. Akira grunted before pulling out his other sword. The sharp one.

This time as he swung it, the blade pierced through, leaving a wound that closed up immediately. _So not only super batshit strong, but regenerating as well? That's just fucking overkill, although I suppose you would need something like that to make a dent in someone like All Might..._

The creature's fist crashed against his face. Akira grimaced in pain as he flew backwards and landed on the concrete floor. _Even with Yoshitsune equipped that hurt like shit. That thing really isn't screwing around, huh?_

Reapplying his grin, Akira tore off his mask, feeling a rush of power that he hadn't felt since the entrance exam. Using persona abilities was one thing, but summoning one? That was something completely different. It felt _euphoric_ in a way that shooting a spell simply didn't.

The giant figure of Yoshitsune emerged from blue flames behind him, swords in stance. Akira felt an almost manic desire to chortle.

He cracked his fingers, exhaling as he quickly dusted off his clothes.

And then, he pointed towards the bird beaked creature, feeling the tendrils of control and an all to familiar _pain_ rush up his joints and abdomen.

Yoshitsune charged towards the creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't like this chapter, I'm gonna be honest. I feel like I'm pacing this too quickly, but I don't want to update this thing ages late again, so here we are. Probably I'll rewrite a few bits of this particular chapter once I have a bit more time.
> 
> Anyways, yeah. That's the beginning of the USJ arc. This'll run for a few more chapters and I'll make use of a few more POV characters compared to this chapter with Akira only.
> 
> Also a question, what are your favorite persona games? Personally I would have to go with 4, because 1) it was my first game and 2) the dynamic of the investigation team is just something special imo. I love 5, but the thieves just doesn't tickle that same itch that the IT does. Maybe it's the humor. That being said, I haven't played Royal yet so that might be it.
> 
> That's it for now, and thanks for reading as usual. Leave a review, provide some constructive criticism.


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